KEY POINTS:
Interim name suppression has lapsed for a 22-year-old Tauranga man convicted today on a charge of sexual connection with a girl aged 13.
Kim Chardori Johnson, unemployed, pleaded guilty in Tauranga District Court and was remanded by Judge Paul Geoghegan in custody for sentencing on April 1.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.
According to the police summary of facts, officers searching a Tauranga house last August found a 13-year-old girl in bed naked.
Johnson, wearing only a pair of boxer shorts, was crouching in a corner of the wardrobe.
The pair denied they were in a sexual relationship.
Johnson was arrested on an unrelated matter and served a short prison term.
During his time behind bars he wrote the 13-year-old a large number of letters.
They were described by a social worker who was shown them by the girl as "of an intimate nature."
The teen said she was - and would continue - having sex with Johnson.
Police searched another Tauranga house at 8.15am on February 18 and found the couple in bed together.
The now 14-year-old admitted to having sex with Johnson about once a week for about five months.
He knew how old she was but declined to tell police whether they had been intimate.
- NZPA
