Inside an Auckland teen rapist’s fight for name suppression

The application has been filed with the Court of Appeal. Photo / File

A teen who raped and sexually violated multiple teenage girls wants his name permanently kept secret partly over fears of “vigilante justice”, a new court document reveals.

The man’s Court of Appeal application requesting leave to appeal the decision not to grant him permanent name suppression alleges a judge failed to place sufficient weight on “vigilante attacks” against him and was wrong in finding he would not likely suffer extreme hardship as a result.

“Being subjected to violence cannot be said to be an ordinary consequence of publication.

“The incidents included a tangible threat on social media site Reddit, and objects including traffic cones and a chair being thrown at the house at night. Subsequent to the hearing the Court was notified by Counsel through submissions of further attacks to his home, including one where [the man] was hospitalised,” the document said.

Investigations into the teen began after several women made rape and sexual assault complaints to police following incidents between 2017 and 2020.

He was arrested and charged with rape, unlawful sexual connection and indecent assault against five victims and pleaded guilty to all charges.

The man had sought permanent name suppression in the initial case but was declined by Judge Claire Ryan, leading to a High Court appeal in August.

The bid for suppression was opposed by NZME and Stuff, while the media organisations also appealed a decision to permanently suppress the name of the school the teenager was attending at the time of the offending.

Justice Simon Moore declined both his appeal and the media’s bid to name the school.

The latest application argues the judge erred in the discretion to rule in favour of dropping the man’s name suppression given his youth, rehabilitative prospects, and personal circumstances.

It submitted the court did not analyse the purpose of reporting the appellant’s name in this case in the current political and social media climate.

“And whether it is actually in the public interest, considering the vigilante attacks and the expert evidence regarding his rehabilitative potential.”

One of the survivors who waived her right to suppression, Mia Edmonds, earlier said the face of the “calculating predator” was forever burned into her mind.

“I still frequently have nightmares about him,” she said. “I have found it very difficult to move away ... He has left me with years of my life lost.”

She said because she was so young the attack completely derailed her life and she began self-harming.

“It seriously impacted my mental health. I was terrified. I didn’t want to sleep in my own room anymore because I was so scared he was going to break in.

“I actually slept on the floor of my parents’ room for months because I was so terrified of him.”

Later in the defendant’s application it’s claimed the court erred in finding there was no link to the assaults on him and his home, and the offending.

As well as this, the application said the judge overstated the man’s risk of reoffending and failed to take into account that publication may result in his rehabilitation progress being “derailed or jeopardised”.

The teen’s lawyer, Emma Priest, previously argued that if named the young man would be labelled as a serial rapist for life.

“There is significant media interest in this case. Three victims have already waived their name suppression to speak to media,” she said.

“There is potential for my client to become the poster boy for consent to be taught in schools.

“But his offending is linked to his autism disorder. This is not the object of open justice.”