Man who raped bartender refused leave to appeal

A Hutt Valley man convicted of raping a bartender after offering her a lift home has been told by the Court of Appeal that his appeal has no chance of success.

Leon Grant Scurrah was convicted in June 2005 on two counts of sexual violation. He was sentenced to 5-1/2 years' imprisonment, but after a crown appeal the sentence was increased to eight years.

Scurrah had offered the 18-year-old woman a lift home after she finished work but first took her to an isolated area and sexually assaulted her.

After his sentence was increased Scurrah filed a notice of appeal and applied for an extension of time to file the appeal.

In a judgment issued today the Court of Appeal refused the application, saying Scurrah's appeal had no prospect of success.

The only ground of appeal was that Scurrah's trial lawyer made an error in not requiring a witness to be available for cross-examination.

That witness was the taxi driver who had come to pick up the victim before she accepted a ride home with Scurrah.

The court said even if the driver had been cross-examined they doubted it would have had any significant impact on the jury.

- NZPA