Backpacker murderer previously raped tourist

THE man who murdered British backpacker Grace Millane after meeting her on a dating app raped another British tourist months earlier, it has emerged.

Jesse Shane Kempson, who New Zealand’s Supreme Court ruled can now be named, was convicted of murdering Ms Millane by strangling her in a hotel in Auckland after meeting her via Tinder on December 1, 2018 — the day before her 22nd birthday.

The 28-year-old has since been convicted of further violent offences in two recent trials, including raping another woman he met on Tinder.

Kempson, who opted for the trials in October and November to be heard before a judge, was convicted of rape last month.

The Guardian reported that offence occurred eight months before Kempson murdered Ms Millane, from Wickford in Essex, and the victim was also a British tourist who he met on the dating app.

The paper says he raped the tourist when she refused sex after a date.

The woman reportedly went to the police when she recognised Kempson from media coverage on the day he was charged with the murder of Ms Millane.

Kempson was also convicted of threatening to kill, two charges of assault with a weapon, three assaults and two counts of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection at a trial in October, court documents state.

The Guardian says the victim in that case was Kempson’s former girlfriend, with the offences taking place over the span of a few months in 2017.

Kempson was al l owed to keep his name secret through the court proceedings as his defence counsel argued naming him would prevent him getting a fair trial.

The Supreme Court has now allowed his name to be made public stating “the orders suppressing the name of the applicant in relation to his conviction for the murder of Ms Millane and his October and November convictions now lapse.”

It comes after Kempson had appealed to the New Zealand Court of Appeal in August but it found against him on Friday.

Justices Stephen Kos, Mark Cooper and Patricia Courtney said the Auckland murder was “committed with a high degree of callousness”.

The judges also found his sentence was not “manifestly unjust”.

Ms Millane’s body was found in a suitcase buried in a forested area.

Kempson was convicted by a jury in November 2019 and jailed in February for at least 17 years for the murder.