Five members of the Mongrel Mob have been found guilty of kidnapping a 15-year-old girl and subjecting her to two hours of sexual abominations.
This afternoon the officer in charge of the case, Detective Sergeant Dave Pizzini, praised the girl's courage in coming forward to give evidence against the Mob.
Before the High Court in Auckland were Monty Tarawa, aged 34, of Manurewa, represented by Paul Borich; Taylor Cassidy, aged 31, of Manurewa, represented by Peter Winter; Wayne Lester Ratu, aged 29, of Papatoetoe, represented by Frank Hogan; Theodore Reneti, aged 30, of Te Kuiti, represented by David Niven; and Shane Gregory Koroheke, aged 30, of Hamilton, represented by Richard Earwaker.
The five were found guilty by a jury today of abducting the girl from her Takinini home on June 29 last year and taking her to a sleepout in Manurewa where the ordeal took place.
They were found guilty on a total of 11 counts including abduction, sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection and attempted rape but were cleared of two other charges. Another count was dropped part way through the two-and-a-half week trial.
Justice Judith Potter remanded the five in custody for sentencing in June.
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