Two Indian migrants have been found guilty of raping a 17-year-old girl in New Zealand in December 2013.
Friends Amritpal Singh (25) and Parampreet Singh (27) were charged with rape and sexual violation of a drunk teenager who came in contact with them via a social media website. The duo was found guilty of rape in their third trial on Friday, reported.
The Crown prosecutor told the Christchurch District Court judge and the jury that the 17-year-old victim met Parampreet Singh on a dating website on December 21, 2013, and decided to meet him at a beach for drinking after she told Singh she was too young to go to a bar.
Prosecutor Deidre Orchard said the victim was given vodka to drink and then Parampreet joined her in the back seat of a car and performed sex with her before taking the victim to a nearby club where he and Amritpal Singh took turns to rape her.
Prosecutor Orchard said the victim told the police she could not move or take things in properly and that she lay there like a plank. The victim said when she rolled away to vomit, the men gave her a break and they again rolled her back and resumed violating her, the prosecutor told the court.
The prosecutor said both men then acknowledged to each other on text messages they might be in trouble.
Both men denied the charges against them and said the girl had consented.
The lawyer for Amritpal Singh said the girl was there on her own accord and co-operated with the men. He said she was clearly able to communicate what she wanted.
On Friday, a jury today found Parampreet Singh guilty of two charges of rape. It found him not guilty of a sexual violation charge. Amritpal Singh was found guilty of rape and sexual violation.
The first trial against them was declared a mistrial and in the second, the verdict was overturned on appeal over the issue of intoxication and the way the issue of consent was dealt with. They were sentenced to over 8-year jail terms after their convictions in the second trial.
Both men have been remanded in custody until their sentencing is announced later this month.
