A girl, 3 1/2, contracted gonorrhoea after being raped by her uncle.
The 22-year-old uncle was convicted yesterday of sexual violation by rape by a jury in the High Court at Auckland and was remanded in custody for sentencing next month.
In his summing up, Justice Hugh Williams told the jury to put aside any feelings of "repugnance or abhorrence" in coming to its verdict.
Evidence was given that the man, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of his victim, admitted to his family that he had gonorrhoea.
He allegedly claimed the girl contracted the disease after he gave her a lollipop he had been licking.
Medical evidence was given that sharing a lollipop between an infected person and the girl would not give her vaginal gonorrhoea.
When interviewed, the man admitted sharing a lollipop with the girl, but denied having had the disease or having any sexual contact with her.
He also denied saying that the girl had picked up the disease from the lollipop.
After yesterday's verdict, the officer in charge of the case, Detective Stephen Peat said the girl had been cured of the disease but might well suffer emotional harm in years to come.
There had been difficulties in mounting the prosecution because the girl was not old enough to be interviewed.
"In most cases someone says this is what happened to me, but in this case all you have is circumstantial evidence pointing to [the uncle] as the offender."
Detective Peat said he was concerned that the mother had been given no support from the family because the accused was her husband's brother.
The man had been in New Zealand only a matter of months when the offending occurred, between September 1998 and March 1999.
An overstayer, he has been served with a removal order back to Tonga when he completes his sentence.
Rapist claimed lollipop gave child gonorrhoea
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