Man found guilty in drugs rape case

A 28-year-old drainlayer has been found guilty of several charges of taking advantage of drunk, drugged and sleeping women for sex.

Neville Victor Chubb of Te Atatu was facing seven charges of rape, one of unlawful sexual connection, one of administering the class B drug Ecstasy and three charges of indecent assault, involving eight women over a 2 1/2-year period from 1999.

He was convicted in relation to five of the complainants, acquitted in relation to two and the jury was undecided on a single charge of indecent assault relating to one complainant.

He was convicted of three rapes, two indecent assaults and administering a class B drug.

He was found not guilty of unlawful sexual connection.

Part way through the trial Justice Colin Nicholson discharged Chubb on two other charges of stupefying women due to lack of evidence.

The Crown, represented by Kevin Glubb and John Dixon, maintained that the women were drunk, drugged or asleep and in no state to consent to sex with Chubb.

But defence lawyers Ron Mansfield and Steve Bonnar said that some of the alleged sexual activity did not happen and there was consent in the rest of the cases.

A drunken consent or a consent later regretted were still consent, the defence argued. They said that the woman in the Ecstasy charge knew she was being given the drug.

The jury retired to consider its verdict at lunchtime on Tuesday and reached its decision late last night.