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Offender Databases Aputitolaula Latu

Aputitolaula Iputau Latu

Alias

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Offences

Rape and unlawful sexual connection with a four year old Auckland girl in 1995

Victims

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Offender Affiliations

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Gang affiliations

none known

Age

Born ?

Current Location

Prison

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to preventive detention with a 15 year minimum non-parole period in August 1995
On appeal preventive detention upheld but minimum term reduced to 12 years in September 1996

Background
From the Dominion 27/09/1996
Because Aputitolaula Iputau Latu's likely response to psychiatric treatment had not been properly assessed, the Appeal Court reduced his non-parole jail term from 15 to 12 years. Latu was sentenced to preventive detention after sexually violating a four-year-old girl who wandered out of an Auckland wedding reception. Giving the Appeal Court's decision, Justice Anderson said Latu handled the girl so roughly in a cruel and vicious attack that she suffered internal cuts that needed surgery.

Psychiatric reports said Latu had distorted beliefs about the capacity of children to consent to sexual activity and a twisted view that sexual activity would benefit them. Two psychiatrists considered there was a risk of repeat offending, but they could not say how he would respond to therapy in the long term. The judge said the length of Latu's non-parole period was also disproportionate to the terms imposed in some particularly repugnant murders and rapes.

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Corrections and Additional Information
We endeavour to make this database as accurate as possible, but we are at the mercy of whatever information we can find in various online and offline archives. We rely on the public - that is, people like you - to fill in the gaps that we cannot. If you wish to submit additional information or a correction to this file CLICK HERE . Privacy: Trust policy is that all sources are treated as strictly confidential unless we are explicitly told otherwise. If you wish to see a file removed from this database certain conditions must be met by the offender set out HERE Note that this does NOT apply for those that are the primary offender in a murder, rape, or any sexual offending involving minors. We do not enter into correspondence regarding the guilt/innocence of offenders. Such correspondence is not responded to, especially if the offender concerned has a number of prior convictions

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