Man awaits verdict in assault of stepdaughter's rapist

A jury is deciding the fate of a man on trial for allegedly assaulting his 15-year-old stepdaughter's rapist.

Members of the jury have gone into deliberation at Wellington District Court this morning.

Jason Haward was convicted of raping the girl at Paraparaumu Beach last year and was sentenced to seven years' jail.

During the stepfather's trial the court was told he saw Haward walking down a road in Paraparaumu after the crime.

The court heard the man leaped from his car and punched Haward repeatedly in the head and face, and head-butted him.

He has pleaded not guilty to assault with intent to injure.

Before summarising the case this morning, Judge Peter Butler urged the jury not to make a decision based on emotions like sympathy or anger.

Butler said that was an important point to remember, especially in this case.

"No one in New Zealand is entitled to take the law into their own hands, that's what we have the police for."