Rapist sentenced to extra year by Court of Appeal

A man who appealed his rape conviction has ended up having another year added to his jail term.

John Paul Pehi appealed his conviction in the Court of Appeal last month, while Solicitor-General David Collins appealed against Pehi's sentence, which he believed was not enough.

Appeal Court accepted Pehi's six-and-a-half year sentence was too short and increased it to seven-and-a-half years, closer to the standard eight-year starting point for rape.

It dismissed Pehi's appeal against his conviction.

Pehi was convicted in Rotorua District Court in December last year of raping a woman in May 2004.

- NZPA