Man charged with raping woman by Christchurch river

Police have arrested a 28-year-old man and charged him with rape after a woman was dragged off a central Christchurch street last month.

The 19-year-old woman was walking home near the corner of Kilmore St and Fitzgerald Ave about 4am on March 28 when she was attacked and dragged into a grass area alongside the Avon River.

Her attacker was described as having a "very distinctive" tattoo in a half-circle around and above his navel.

The arrested man was given interim name suppression, but denied bail at Christchurch District Court today.

Lawyer David Stringer told Judge Noel Walsh the man "emphatically" denied a charge of sexual violation and would plead not guilty at an appropriate time.

- NZPA