Thursday, 25 July 2025
A man who raped a teenage girl when he was 15 but wasn’t convicted until he was 21 has taken his case to New Zealand’s highest court, arguing he should have been sentenced as a youth.
The man, whose name is suppressed, was handed three years and four months in prison last year in the District Court. That sentence covered three separate incidents: the rape of one teenager when he was 15, and two sexual offences against other women when he was 18.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court heard arguments over whether the long delay in charging him unfairly prevented the earlier rape from being handled in the Youth Court, where the focus is on rehabilitation rather than punishment.
The court was told the first victim had consumed sleeping pills and alcohol and woke up the next morning with no memory of what had happened. It wasn’t until police investigated his later offending that she learned the truth and laid a complaint.
By then, the man was 21. He pleaded guilty to two charges relating to the women he assaulted at 18. A jury found him guilty of the earlier rape.
His lawyers say the years-long delay robbed him of the protections and rehabilitation focus of the youth justice system. They argued that had he been dealt with promptly, the rape charge would have been heard in the Youth Court.
But Crown lawyers pushed back, saying the seriousness of the offending—and the fact he went on to harm two more women—justified sentencing him as an adult. They told the court the original judge was right to treat the rape as the lead offence and impose a prison term.
The man is currently on bail while the Supreme Court prepares to make its ruling. A decision is expected in the coming weeks.
New Zealand Supreme Court Reviews Sentence for Delayed Rape Case.
The Paper 