Uber rapist Moses Ravanes released on parole and deported

Christchurch Uber driver Moses Ravanes was jailed for raping a passenger in 2018. Photo / Supplied

An Uber driver who raped his drunk passenger in the back seat has been deported after a failed bid to stay in New Zealand.

Moses Gengo-Yon Ravanes was released on parole on October 25 and scheduled on a deportation flight to the Philippines the same day, according to a Parole Board decision sent to Open Justice today.

Ravanes, 42, was jailed for six years and six months for climbing onto the back seat of his car and raping a female passenger midway through a trip to her home in 2018.

He appealed against his deportation from jail earlier this year, saying his family in the Philippines would suffer if he had to leave New Zealand and he could provide better for them here.

The Immigration and Protection Tribunal disagreed, finding no reason to grant him an exception.

A letter to the Tribunal from Ravanes’ victim said he had caused her “irreparable damage”, and others have had their visas revoked for much less serious offences.

Ravanes was born in the Philippines and came to New Zealand in 2013, earning a skilled migrant resident visa as a carpenter in 2016, less than two years before he offended in 2018.

A parole assessment report in April said he showed a low risk of reoffending - he was a prisoner with good behaviour, no identified drug use, and had completed a safety plan with a psychologist.

He also showed a genuine effort to change and had made steady progress, according to a letter from a mental health clinician the same month.

However, the Immigration Ministry said it was against public interest and the integrity of the immigration system to allow Ravanes, a sex offender, to stay in New Zealand.

Ravanes’ statutory release date is September 2025.

At a hearing last month, the Parole Board granted his release on the condition that he would be deported to the Philippines and must not return to New Zealand.

The Board said Ravanes had engaged with a psychologist as there was a clear need for his treatment before release, and despite little progress because of language barriers, Ravanes “did get to the point of finally accepting responsibility for his offending”.

Immigration New Zealand general manager Karen Bishop said Ravanes was deported on October 26.