DNA match brings jail for rape in 2001

A man who snatched a teenager off a Hamilton street in 2001 and raped her has been jailed for 11 years after he provided a DNA sample for another crime.

Israel Kaa, 24, submitted his DNA after a serious assault two years after the rape, allowing police to link him to the rape. His DNA was matched with semen taken from the 16-year-old's underpants, the High Court at Hamilton was told.

Justice John Laurenson jailed Kaa for 11 years, ordering that he serve a minimum of 5 1/2 years.

In October, a jury found Kaa guilty on charges of rape, abduction, assault and two charges of sexual violation. Kaa, who had only just come off parole at the time of the attack, denied the offending, claiming the sex was consensual.

Justice Laurenson said Kaa saw the girl near the Seddon Rd cricket ground about 8pm on October 22, 2001. The girl was walking to her mother's house when Kaa snatched her.

He grabbed her around the throat and forced her into his car before driving her to an area near the Hamilton lake.

When she refused to give him oral sex, Kaa raped her, before dropping her off near where he picked her up. She went to a phone box and called police.

Justice Laurenson said there were no mitigating factors. Kaa, a father of three, had 45 previous convictions - mostly for dishonesty, driving and failing to obey court orders.

"You are a person contemptuous of the law," the judge said.

Kaa's lawyer, Sean Ellis, said his client was a young man not beyond rehabilitation.

- NZPA