KEY POINTS:
The Crown has dropped a charge against a 28-year-old man of abducting an 11-year-old girl before she was sexually assaulted.
Jared Paul Simmonds, a vineyard worker, had already pleaded guilty to committing an indecent act against the girl in the grounds of a Christchurch primary school, on Waitangi Day.
The name of the school is suppressed to protect the identity of the victim.
In Christchurch District Court today, Judge Murray Abbott remanded Simmonds in custody for sentencing on July 30, and asked for a probation report and a victim impact report.
He also asked that a psychiatric report be prepared under the Criminal Proceedings (Mentally Impaired Persons) Act for the sentencing.
An earlier court hearing was told that the school principal felt uneasy when she saw the unlikely pairing of the girl and the man in the school grounds.
She then saw Simmonds lunge at the girl, foot-trip her, and put his hand over her mouth when they landed on the ground.
The principal saw him simulate sex as he lay on top of the girl. She called 111 and assisted the girl, while Simmonds collected his bicycle and clothes and walked off.
NZPA
