Man jailed for rape of sleeping teenager

A Bay of Plenty man who raped a sleeping teenager before fleeing the country using a fake passport has been jailed for seven years.

Mount Maunganui diesel mechanic Phillip Armstrong, 49, last month pleaded guilty to rape and two breaches of the Passport Act after being extradited from Australia.

Armstrong had been partying with a group of people, including the teenage victim in March last year, Tauranga District Court was told.

In the early hours of the morning, the teenager went home. Shortly afterwards, Armstrong entered her house through an unlocked door, made his way to the room where she was sleeping and raped her.

He left after the girl woke up and cried out.

He was subsequently arrested and appeared in court on March 10, 2008, the Bay of Plenty Times reported.

However, in September 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.

He was eventually tracked down and extradited back to New Zealand.

He pleaded guilty to the charges on July 21.

The court was told Armstrong's criminal history included an attempted rape in the 1990s.

Defence counsel Craig Tuck said Armstrong deeply regretted his actions and deserved credit for his guilty pleas and a $3000 emotional harm payment, paid to the court yesterday by his family.

Judge Louis Bidois said he was satisfied Armstrong had fled the country to avoid the charges and needed to appreciate the extent of the damage and harm he had done to the victim.

- NZPA