Bradbury plans to appeal

A convicted rapist who was found guilty this week of touching girls in a Queenstown swimming pool has indicated he will appeal the convictions.

Benjamin Barrie Bradbury, 43, was found guilty by a jury after a trial in the Invercargill District Court on 10 of the 13 indecent assault charges he faced.

The charges related to incidents at Alpine Aqualand, at the Queenstown Events Centre, in June 2017, and involved six girls.

The offending included spending between six and 10 hours in the pool, only exiting to use the bathroom.

Judge Mark Callaghan said a pool worker had said it was ‘‘extremely unusual’’ for someone to stay in the pool for that long.

On Wednesday, Callaghan convicted Bradbury on the charges and remanded him until yesterday to decide whether sentencing will be heard in the District Court or the High Court.

At the hearing, the judge said he was firmly of the mind that the matter should be heard in the High Court so preventive detention could be considered.

Preventive detention is an indeterminate prison sentence. Prisoners may be released on parole but remain managed by Corrections for the rest of their life, and can be recalled to prison at any time.

The judge remanded Bradbury until May 9 to appear in the High Court at Invercargill.

Bradbury indicated he had laid a complaint with the Independent Police Conduct Authority about the jury, and that he would appeal the convictions.

In 2004, media reported that Bradbury committed a knifepoint rape of a 15-year-old girl he had plucked off the street, and was jailed for 13 years.

At the time of sentencing, the Crown unsuccessfully sought preventive detention for Bradbury, whose offending occurred eight months after his release from prison for indecently assaulting a 6-year-old girl.