Rapist jailed 3½ years

Press, 22 July 1989, Page 6

Rapist jailed 3½ years

PA Wellington A 61-year-old Palmerston North man who raped his 13-year-old granddaughter three times was jailed for 3‘/ 2 years when he appeared for sentence in the High Court at Wellington yesterday. The accused, granted final name suppression by Mr Justice Neazor, had been found guilty of three charges of sexual violation by rape of his granddaughter at a jury trial in

Palmerston North in June. Evidence had been given by the complainant that her grandfather had raped her twice during August 1987 and again in November that year. The complainant said her grandmother had been away on both occasions. As the man left the dock after sentencing yesterday he said: “I did not do it.” Justice Neazor, who

presided over the jury trial, said at yesterday’s sentencing he was not surprised the jury had accepted the complainant’s evidence. The offending had caused distress within the family and involved a substantial breach of trust, he said. The accused had achieved a high standing in the community and this made the offending more surprising, he said.