Paul Harrop once ran a $4m farm - now he's been sentenced for offending linked to his homelessness and addiction

A former successful farmer who ran a $4 million rural property is now homeless and "night-crawling" after his life became upended by addiction.

About 14 years ago, Paul James Harrop was removed as a trustee from a family trust, which owned a farm in South Taranaki, after a string of methamphetamine-related convictions.

Harrop had been operating a "successful dairy farm operation" and was an "energetic farmer" until around 2009.

In 2010, he began appearing in court and was given an opportunity to attend a rehab facility, but he left the programme without completing it.

Harrop spent around five months in prison that year, and his behaviour had become "somewhat erratic", according to a 2011 High Court judgment.

The judgment detailed how the farm was valued at about $4m and the trust also had a large cash reserve and other assets associated with the farming operations.

But those reserves were depleted, and the other trustees alleged it was due to Harrop's lifestyle.

The overall performance of the farm had also deteriorated and sharemilkers were brought in to manage it.

In 2011, the other trustees applied to the High Court to have Harrop removed as a trustee, which was granted.

This week, Harrop, now 54, made another appearance in court, where his addiction issues were discussed.

The New Plymouth District Court heard he had amassed more than 50 convictions between 1991 and 2024, but defence lawyer Paul Keegan said there was a gap in his offending between 2016 and 2023.

When Harrop started offending again in 2023, it coincided with his becoming homeless, Keegan said.

His recent charges of unlawfully being in a building, burglary, unlawfully being in an enclosed yard, offensive behaviour, and breaches were consistent with his addiction issues and homelessness, the lawyer submitted.

According to the summary of facts, a frightened young girl found Harrop hiding in her family's garage last year.

She told her father, who confronted him as he tried to flee the rural Waitara property.

After a brief exchange, the man opened the garage door and Harrop ran off.

Judge Gregory Hikaka said the girl was shaken by seeing a stranger on their property and now struggled with anxiety.

Her father was angry that the 29 September incident had left the family feeling unsafe and vulnerable in their home.

Over the following months, Harrop, on separate occasions, went on to a person's property and stole a pair of shoes from their porch, ran into another person's backyard, hid in a bush when police tried to speak with him, and walked into a busy intersection and yelled obscenities at people.

Keegan said Harrop had been living on the street, roaming, and drugs and alcohol were a factor in his offending, which had also caused him to be paranoid.

"He's essentially night-crawling around and getting into relatively minor bits of trouble.

"But of course, there is also risk for him and for others in him leading this lifestyle and going around in that state."

Laura Blencowe, prosecuting for the police, said while it was Harrop's first burglary, which carried the greatest penalty, he has a large history of dishonesty offending.

She sought a sentence of around 11 months' imprisonment.

Judge Hikaka echoed Keegan in that the theme of the offending was vagrancy, "what he was putting into his body", and paranoia.

However, he said, a letter Harrop provided showed good insight, detailing how he had "learned his lesson", wanted to change and promised he would not drink or do drugs.

The judge said the defendant had good family support, was keen to work and wanted to be a "family man".

Balancing Harrop's criminal history and that he was on release conditions at the time of the offending with his remorse, willingness to change and guilty pleas, Judge Hikaka sentenced him to nine months' imprisonment.

He was also given six months of release conditions and ordered to pay $100 in reparation for the shoes.

The judge encouraged him to abstain from alcohol and drugs, which were a "trigger point" for his offending.

"At 54, there are much better ways of living and a lot that you are missing out on as a result of this ... lifestyle that you have adopted."

- This story originally appeared in the New Zealand Herald.