A young woman who is seen by the court to have had a disturbing pattern of behaviour for reoffending has been sentenced to around four weeks in jail.

Maiarii Kauvai Short had already spent 10 days at the Arorangi Prison when she appeared before Justice of the Peace John Whitta at the Criminal Court in Avarua yesterday for four counts of breaching her probation orders.

JP Whitta acknowledged Short’s 10 days in prison, adding the defendant had a pattern demonstrated in her offending over a period of time.

The probation officer informed the court that Short breached curfew on March 28 and April 6 and failed to report to probation on March 28 and April 4.

Through defence counsel Michelle Tangimama, a guilty plea was entered.

The probation officer added Short disregarded probation conditions and had a consistent pattern of non-compliance.

The officer highlighted that last year Justice Christine Grice had warned Short that the court would not show her leniency again.

The officer recommended three months imprisonment saying they have been lenient with her breaching curfew and a custodial sentence would make her understand.

She said there have been rehabilitation efforts and Probation Services offered transportation but the defendant had been reluctant to follow orders.

Defence lawyer Tangimama opposed the custodial sentence saying that Short had already spent 10 days in custody. The lawyer added her client should be allowed to go home and that she was still young.

However, JP Whitta said the problem was that Short had an extensive history of disobeying court orders. Her first contempt offence occurred on April 17, 2023, followed by eight more, demonstrating her inability to comply with court orders, he said.

JP Whitta said the history of court orders was important and in a span of nine days, she committed four offences and two involved visiting the nightclub.