KEY POINTS:
A 16-year-old youth who admitted attacking and raping a teenager in a Hastings park this year has been remanded in custody for sentence in the district court.
The youth, who appeared in the Hastings Youth Court before Judge Bridget MacIntosh today, had earlier pleaded guilty to charges of sexual violation, aggravating wounding and threatening to kill.
Judge MacIntosh, who declined jurisdiction, said the youth should be sentenced in the district court in view of the significant public interest in the case and the serious nature of the offences.
In a summary read to the court, Judge MacIntosh said the 16-year-old victim was walking to a friend's place at about 9.30pm on January 22 this year but had gone in the wrong direction.
Realising she was lost, she got a street map from a motel but had difficulty reading the map under streetlights.
The accused, who was on a bike, approached her and initially offered to show her the right way, insisting on riding in front of her.
The teen decided to walk through Cornwall Park and was walking along one of the pathways when she was grabbed from behind, dragged across the park and subsequently raped.
During the attack she was rendered unconscious.
The accused was apprehended by police the following morning.
The youth will be sentenced in the Hastings District Court on August 17.
- NZPA
