Grace Millane’s killer appeals sexual convictions
The man who murdered British backpacker Grace Millane is appealing his convictions for sexual violence against two other women, saying they exaggerated their evidence because of the backpacker’s case.
Jesse Shane Kempson, 30, was found guilty of raping a woman in a motel room and seriously assaulting and sexually violating a former girlfriend at two separate trials.
Yesterday, Kempson appeared via a video link to appeal both his convictions and sentences at the Court of Appeal in Auckland.
Justice Matthew Muir, Justice Forrie Miller and Justice David Gendall reserved the decision. Kempson was sentenced to seven years and six months’ imprisonment by Justice Timothy Brewer after being found guilty of serious violent and sexual charges against a former girlfriend, who cannot be named.
The pair met on Tinder in 2016 and moved in together shortly after.
She said Kempson tried to kill her on January 19, 2017, chasing her around the house with a knife and holding her in a chokehold.
In April 2017, the woman left Kempson and was granted a protection order against him, but criminal charges weren’t laid.
In December 2018, the victim saw a blurred image of her exboyfriend in media reports about Grace Millane’s disappearance.
‘‘I had this gut instinct it was Jesse . . . my whole world came crashing down around me again,’’ the woman said in court.
Kempson was also sentenced to three and a half years for raping a young British woman in April 2018 by Justice Geoffrey Venning.
During the trial, the woman told the court she’d recently arrived in New Zealand and met Kempson on Tinder.
The victim said she discovered Kempson was the man charged with killing Grace Millane after her work colleagues found overseas media coverage naming him.
Yesterday, Kempson’s lawyer, Ron Mansfield KC, said both women exaggerated their relationships with Kempson because of the Grace Millane case. He said their evidence was not credible.