An international hunt for a Mount Maunganui man who raped a sleeping teenager before fleeing the country using a fake passport, ended yesterday with the man being jailed for seven years.
Diesel mechanic Phillip Armstrong, 49, who last month pleaded guilty to rape and two breaches of the Passport Act, was located with the help of Interpol and extradited from Australia.
Tauranga District Court was told that in March last year, Armstrong had been at a party socialising with a group of people, including the teenage victim.
In the early hours of the following morning, the teenager left to go home to bed, and shortly after, Armstrong entered her house through an unlocked door, made his way to the room where she was sleeping and raped her.
Armstrong left the address after the girl woke and cried out.
He was subsequently arrested and charged, making his first appearance in court on March 10, 2008.
However, on September 18 last year, Armstrong submitted a false passport application to Internal Affairs, using another name and date of birth, and a week later used it to travel to Sydney.
Armstrong was eventually tracked down and extradited back to New Zealand.
He pleaded guilty to the charges on July 21.
Crown prosecutor Catherine Harold
said aggravating factors of Armstrong's offending included the victim's vulnerability, the extent of harm to her, his attempts to avoid prosecution and the considerable costs in extraditing him back to New Zealand to face trial, the later causing added trauma for the victim.
Armstrong's criminal history included an attempted rape in the 1990s,
the court was told.
Armstrong's lawyer Craig Tuck said Armstrong accepted leaving New Zealand while facing criminal charges was totally unacceptable, but said he had received threats from supporters of the victim.
Mr Tuck said Armstrong, who was supported in court by his partner and family, deeply regretted what had occurred and deserved credit for his guilty pleas and a $3000 emotional harm payment, paid to the court yesterday by Armstrong's family.
Judge Louis Bidois said he was satisfied Armstrong had fled the country to avoid the charges, but the mitigating factors in Armstrong's favour were strong and he accepted Armstrong was embarrassed and ashamed by his offending.
However, Armstrong needed to appreciate the extent of the damage and harm he had done to the victim, Judge Bidois said.
Reading from the victim impact statement, Judge Bidois said the teenager raped by Armstrong had experienced flashbacks, sleepless nights and nightmares and it had caused considerable stress to her and her family.
Man who raped sleeping teen jailed after overseas hunt
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