Friends jailed for rape of teen

After two rape trials that ended with guilty verdicts, two Indian men now say they will do their jail time and won’t lodge appeals.

The men – Parampreet Singh and Amritpal Singh – will be deported as soon as they are released from the prison terms imposed by Christchurch District Court Judge David Saunders on Thursday.

The judge said that after three-and-a-half years the complainant, who was aged 17 at the time of the double rape, wanted to hear the court process had ended.

Three trials were held. One was declared a mistrial and the guilty verdicts in the second trial were quashed by the Court of Appeal and a new trial was ordered.

At the third trial last month, the jury found Parampreet Singh, 27, guilty of two charges of raping the girl in a late-night incident that took place in a car and on the roof of the New Brighton Surf Club.

Amritpal Singh, 25, was found guilty of sexual violation and also rape.

The men were friends but were not related. The pair claimed at the trials they had an honest belief the girl, who had been given a lot of vodka to drink, consented to the sexual activity.

Crown prosecutor Deidre Orchard said it would be wrong and totally inappropriate for the men to be granted any sentence reduction for remorse.

The sexual assaults had been ‘‘degrading in the extreme’’, she said.

Judge Saunders said the offending involved a shy 17-year-old girl who had been contacted on an online dating site. The victim had been traumatised.

He noted the pre-sentence report writer assessed the men’s ‘‘lifestyle and cultural attitude of gender superiority’’ had been a factor in the offending.

He jailed Parampreet Singh for seven years and nine months and Amritpal Singh for seven years and six months.