Friends jailed for rape of 17-year-old

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 threeand-a-half years the complainant, who was aged 17 at the time of the double rape and was in court for the sentencing, wanted to hear the court process had ended.

Counsel made it clear there would be no appeals and the judge said a letter of apology from one of the men could be passed on to her.

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. It found him not guilty of a sexual violation charge.

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

The men were friends but were not related.

The pair had 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.

However, Crown prosecutor Deidre Orchard said that claim had now been rejected by two juries, although the men maintained their stance in their pre-sentence interviews.

She 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.

‘‘No pity or compassion had been shown to her [the victim] by either of the defendants.’’

Judge Saunders said the offending involved a shy 17-yearold girl who had been contacted on an online dating site.

She had willingly consumed the alcohol she was given.

The sexual activity had paused while she had vomited, but had then continued. ‘‘There was no real concern for her welfare or comfort, as is shown by the grazes and bruises on her body the next day,’’ said the judge.

The victim had 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.

Those sentences were nine months and eight months lower than the sentences imposed after the earlier trial.

He gave both offenders firststrike warnings.

The pair’s exact immigration status was not known. been