{"id":131339,"date":"2025-11-12T15:19:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-12T15:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/131339\/"},"modified":"2025-11-12T15:19:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-12T15:19:00","slug":"sunlive-bop-teen-denies-raping-schoolgirl","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/131339\/","title":{"rendered":"SunLive – BOP teen denies raping schoolgirl"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Warning: This story deals with allegations of the sexual assault of a child and may be distressing.<\/p>\n

A teenage boy has denied sexually violating his friend\u2019s primary-aged sister, telling the prosecutor he is \u201ctelling the truth\u201d.<\/p>\n

However, he did accept that on \u201cone or two occasions\u201d he was in her bedroom alone with her while she painted his face.<\/p>\n

The teen is accused of the rape and indecent assault of the girl, who told the court that he would offer her lollies if she would let him \u201cput his penis in her \u2019gina\u201d and they would kiss lying down.<\/p>\n

She said it would happen in her room, under a trampoline, or behind some bushes on the Bay of Plenty property where she lived.<\/p>\n

She made disclosures<\/a>\u00a0after her mother became increasingly concerned about the girl\u2019s behaviour, including sexualised behaviour, an increasing interest in anatomy books and irritation of her genital area.<\/p>\n

After the mother spoke to her, and offered guidance that \u201cprivate parts\u201d aren\u2019t to be touched by others, the girl told her mother her brother\u2019s friend had done things to her.<\/p>\n

The teen, who has statutory name suppression, has been in a judge-alone trial before Judge Paul Geoghegan in the\u00a0Youth Court<\/a>\u00a0this week.<\/p>\n

He denies there was any\u00a0inappropriate or sexual contact<\/a>\u00a0between him and the girl, and said their interactions mostly involved bouncing on the trampoline together while he waited for his friend to \u201cfinish his chores\u201d, or when all three would play hide and seek.<\/p>\n

Closed doors and painted faces<\/p>\n

The teen recalled \u201cone or two\u201d occasions, which he said were initiated by the girl, when he went into her room so she could \u201cpaint his face\u201d.<\/p>\n

He remembered one instance when the girl\u2019s mum had opened the door and seen his face had been painted by the girl, and he said she seemed to find it \u201cfunny\u201d.<\/p>\n

The mother gave evidence to say she had \u201ccaught\u201d the boy in her daughter\u2019s room between four and six times, and recalled one instance when the girl had been drawing on the teen\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the girl\u2019s father gave evidence and said he too had seen the boy in the girl\u2019s room on three separate occasions, and said his frustration had grown as he repeated the instruction to the pair that doors were to be kept open.<\/p>\n

He said the family had tried to stick to a general rule that doors were kept open.<\/p>\n

However, there had been occasions, which he described as a developing \u201chabit\u201d, where the boy and girl had been alone in the girl\u2019s bedroom with the door locked.<\/p>\n

At first, he had \u201cnot been sure what to make of it\u201d, he said, but hadn\u2019t thought there was cause for concern regarding someone of his son\u2019s age.<\/p>\n

The last time he\u2019d seen them in there was after he observed the bedroom blind was closed while he was outside.<\/p>\n

He went inside, opened the door and saw his daughter sitting on the boy\u2019s lap, facing him, and applying either paint or make-up to the teen.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d become angry, told them to get outside and said words to the effect of \u201cget out of the f***ing room\u201d, as he felt the \u201cirritation\u201d of a father who was \u201cnot being listened to\u201d regarding his repeated open-door instruction.<\/p>\n

He retreated to the kitchen and the pair left the room with his daughter uttering a \u201csorry, Dad\u201d as they went outside.<\/p>\n

Defence lawyer Steve Franklin asked the father, under cross-examination, if he had seen any \u201csexual activity\u201d occurring when he walked into the room.<\/p>\n

The father said he had not and confirmed the pair had clothing on.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou saw faces painted, and that was the explanation that was given?\u201d Franklin asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cCorrect,\u201d the father replied.<\/p>\n

He was also asked about how many times he\u2019d seen them in the bedroom, as in his statement to police he\u2019d told them of two occasions, while in his evidence in court he said there had been three.<\/p>\n

He said there had been three, and in addition to those instances, he recalled a time when he and the girl\u2019s mother had seen the bedroom blind closed from the outside of the house, and he had let the mother go in to \u201cdeal with it\u201d while he went off to do other jobs on the property.<\/p>\n

There was evidence about the boys\u2019 friendship, their outdoor pursuits and activities, and the movements of family members around the property as they did chores.<\/p>\n

While the defence seemed to suggest this meant the locations of alleged assaults would have been \u201cextraordinarily risky\u201d, because anyone could turn up at any point and there were lines of sight or proximity, the witnesses suggested they were out of sight of the main areas of activity.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m telling the truth,\u2019 says teen<\/p>\n

The boy said he could not remember the father ever walking into the bedroom, nor becoming angry about him and the girl being behind a closed door.<\/p>\n

When asked by prosecutor Richard Jenson about the times he was in the girl\u2019s bedroom, the boy said he couldn\u2019t remember whether the blinds were closed and the door locked, because he \u201cwasn\u2019t worried\u201d and \u201chadn\u2019t looked\u201d.<\/p>\n

He couldn\u2019t remember where they were sitting, but said the girl had been next to him and painted his face from side-on.<\/p>\n

During re-examination, the teen\u2019s lawyer asked if the girl had actually been facing him when applying paint or make-up to his face, and he said yes.<\/p>\n

Jenson asked: \u201cYou didn\u2019t think there was any problem being alone in [the girl\u2019s] bedroom?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d the boy replied, \u201cbecause she was painting my face.\u201d<\/p>\n

Discover more<\/p>\n

Jenson put to him there had been a \u201cnumber of times\u201d he\u2019d been alone with the girl and hadn\u2019t been able to \u201ccontrol himself sexually\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d the boy replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve touched her and had sex with her?\u201d Jenson asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I\u2019m telling the truth to you,\u201d the teen said.<\/p>\n

Jenson suggested the boy had realised he could have sexual contact with the girl in \u201ca brief window of time and no one would come upon you and find you\u201d.<\/p>\n

The boy denied this.<\/p>\n

He faces five charges, which include three of sexual violation by rape and two of indecent assault. There were initially six, but on the second day of the trial, one was withdrawn by leave as it was an administrative holding charge.<\/p>\n

Judge Geoghegan reserved his decision.<\/p>\n

SEXUAL HARM

\nWhere to get help:

\nIf it’s an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

\nIf you’ve ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact\u00a0Safe to Talk<\/a>\u00a0confidentially, any time 24\/7:

\n\u2022 Call 0800 044 334

\n\u2022 Text 4334

\n\u2022 Email support@safetotalk.nz

\n\u2022 For more info or to web chat visit\u00a0safetotalk.nz<\/a>

\nAlternatively contact your local police station –\u00a0click here for a list.<\/a>

\nIf you have been sexually assaulted, remember it’s not your fault.<\/p>\n

Hannah\u00a0Bartlett\u00a0is a Tauranga-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She previously covered court and local government for the Nelson Mail, and before that was a radio reporter at Newstalk ZB.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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