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Offender Databases Renata Leilua

Renata Leilua

Alias

.

Offences

Sexual violation by rape of a 16 year old girl in Nawton, Hamilton in July 2008

Victims

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Offender Affiliations

.

Gang affiliations

none known

Age

Born 1994

Current Location

Corrections facility

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to five years in August 2009

Background
From the Waikato Times 15th August 2009
A judge has urged a Hamilton teenager convicted of rape to accept his offending or risk becoming a ticking "time bomb".

Judge Robert Spear's comments came as Renata Leilua, 15, was sentenced yesterday at Hamilton District Court to five years' jail. He had earlier been found guilty of rape by a jury.

The court was told that on July 27 last year, Leilua and the complainant, then aged 16, had been at a house party in Nawton, Hamilton, when the girl decided to walk home. Leilua, then aged 14, followed the complainant into nearby Crawshaw Park where he forced her to the ground and raped her. Leilua denied the offending, saying the pair had consensual sex. However, later that night Leilua told a friend he feared his brother was going to kill him for doing a "really bad" thing.

Crown prosecutor Philip Crayton said Leilua's offending involved violence and a degree of planning and pre-meditation. Leilua wanted to have sex in an effort to improve his status among friends, Mr Crayton said, and knew the complainant would be vulnerable in the park at night. At trial, Leilua told jurors he had been teased at school for being a virgin and was frustrated at jibes he was "frigid". The name of his school has been suppressed.

Mr Crayton said the defendant knew his actions were "seriously wrong" but showed no remorse and continued to deny the offending. The rape did not appear to be an impulsive act.

In submissions, defence counsel Russell Boot disputed the Crown's assessment that Leilua's Behaviour was "predatory" and said the defendant's age would make any jail sentence particularly difficult. In sentencing, Judge Spear said the case was a tragedy for the victim, Leilua and their families. The effect of Leilua's actions on the victim had been dramatic, the judge said. "The court can only express its hope that she is able to cope with the tragedy that has befallen her the best she can."

Addressing the packed public gallery, Judge Spear said Leilua must accept full responsibility for his actions. "This was a shocking crime that he must regret for the rest of his life," the judge said, adding that any woman would have been at risk with Leilua in the park that night. Judge Spear said unless Leilua accepted his crime and sought counselling, he would "come out of prison a time bomb waiting to go off".

From the Waikato Times 13th June 2009
Weeping was heard in the public gallery as a Hamilton teenager was found guilty of rape yesterday. A jury of six men and five women at the Hamilton District Court found Renata Leilua, 15, guilty of one count of sexual violation by rape, in front of a packed public gallery. The court was told during the week how the incident took place after the complainant, then aged 16, left a house party in Nawton, Hamilton, on July 27 last year.

Leilua, then aged 14, followed her into nearby Crawshaw Park where he forced her to the ground and raped her. Addressing the jury before the verdict, Judge Robert Spear complimented them on sitting through an, at times, emotional trial, and asked them to carefully consider the accounts of both the complainant and the accused. "I can tell from the look on your faces that it has not been an easy case for you," he said.

"It's an assessment of the credibility of two young people. This is a case where quite strong emotions would have been aroused in every single one of you. "Judge Spear removed the interim name suppression placed on Leilua at the beginning of the trial. "I reach that decision with some hesitation, but in my eyes, the consequences of an offence as serious as this requires the public to know about it, including the identity of the offender. "Leilua was remanded on bail for sentencing next month in the Hamilton District Court.

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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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