Woman lured by cellphone thief pretending to be her boyfriend

A Wellington woman was left terrified after being lured into a car by a cellphone thief pretending to be her boyfriend, a court has been told.

Vineyard worker Te Raako Warrena Kerehi, 31, sent the woman sexually explicit test messages after he stole her boyfriend's cellphone at a party.

He admitted charges of theft and misusing a telephone when he appeared in Masterton District Court yesterday. A charge of abduction to acquire sex was withdrawn.

The 21-year-old woman caught the train to Masterton on January 18, thinking she was going to meet up with her holidaying boyfriend, The Dominion Post reported.

Several texts had been exchanged that morning, all of a sexual nature.

The woman thought she was communicating with her partner, the court was told.

At the station Kerehi told the woman her boyfriend had sent him to collect her and they headed out of town.

The woman became anxious when Kerehi turned toward an isolated rural area and asked for sex.

She refused and was eventually let out of the car.

Kerehi was convicted and remanded on bail for sentencing on July 9.

- NZPA