Man denies offending as he begins almost 12-year term
File image. © Andrew Bardwell
A Christchurch man has been jailed for nearly 12 years, still claiming he is innocent of sex and assault charges.
Edward Thomas Booth was found guilty of rape, assaulting a woman, and unlawful sexual connection at a Christchurch District Court jury trial last year.
The jury found Booth, 40, guilty of three charges, and not guilty of another nine sexual and assault charges.
Judge Gary MacAskill said the offending took place some time ago, when he dragged his victim up some stairs and raped her, then sexually violated her by anal penetration.
On another occasion he threw a woman into a television cabinet, but she was not significantly injured, he said.
The offending was a breach of trust, and happened in the women’s homes where they were entitled to feel safe, Judge MacAskill said. Booth’s pre-sentence report said that he denied the offending.
Judge MacAskill said he was not giving Booth a minimum non-parole term, and sentenced him to 11 years 9 months prison.
During the trial, the Crown called evidence from a woman who had alleged she had been raped by Booth, but he was found not guilty at that earlier trial in Wellington. The Crown said it showed a pattern of his behaviour.
Category: Focus
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