Pastor jailed for sex with 14-year-old

A Porirua church leader who had sex with a 14-year-old girl from his congregation has been jailed for a year.

Rishpa Chand, 39, had pleaded guilty to a representative charge of having sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old. Wellington District Court judge John Walker yesterday jailed him and refused him leave to apply for home detention.

Chand is believed to be a pastor from the Wellington Indian Assembly of God church.

Judge Walker said that in June and July last year, Chand made contact with the teenage girl.

One night she was home alone while her parents were at a hospital. Chand went to the girl's home, and they had sex. He saw her several times. Sometimes she went with Chand instead of going to school.

The judge said Chand told her he loved her and wanted to marry her. He was already married with two children.

Judge Walker said Chand was simply taking advantage of his position for his own sexual gratification.

Chand, a Fijian Indian who had been in New Zealand on a work permit, had been served with a removal order. His wife and children would remain in New Zealand with his agreement, but it meant he would not be able to apply to return to New Zealand for five years, said his lawyer, Chris Stevenson.

- NZPA