A Waikato man who spent months pretending to be a police detective has admitted a string of offences after using fake police ID to fool teenage girls, employers and members of the public.

Charlie Terry Simonsen-Kemp, 20, appeared in Hamilton District Court on charges including impersonating a police officer, forgery, using forged documents, drink driving and exposing a young person to indecent material.

Court documents show Simonsen-Kemp carried fake police identification clipped to his belt and told people he worked as a detective based in Ngāruawāhia.

One teenage girl said she trusted him because he claimed to be a police officer.

The pair met on Snapchat after Simonsen-Kemp added her online. He allegedly messaged her saying he was “leaving the station” and working cases while using fake police credentials to back up the story.

He reportedly claimed he had completed special police training at a young age to explain why he was already a detective.

Simonsen-Kemp also allegedly used his grandfather’s driver licence details to obtain qualifications and falsely claimed to work for NZTA as an emergency responder.

He allegedly convinced traffic management employers to hire him by claiming he was an undercover detective looking for extra work.

In one incident outlined in court, Simonsen-Kemp allegedly attended after a woman had been assaulted and began taking what he claimed was an official police statement.

He reportedly questioned the woman, discussed CCTV footage and acted as though he was investigating the case himself.

Police later searching his phone allegedly found sexually explicit material sent to a 15-year-old girl, including one image showing him posing with fake police identification.

When spoken to by police, Simonsen-Kemp admitted pretending to be an officer because he wanted people to like him.

He was convicted and remanded in custody ahead of sentencing later this month.