Kapelieli gets jail time for assaults

A man has been sentenced to two-and-a half years in prison on two charges, one of which was an "opportunistic" indecent assault on a 13-year-old girl during a kidnapping.

The offending occurred on July 30 last year when the girl was being held against her will at a house in Flaxmere. She had been part of a group of schoolgirls who threw eggs at the house, after which several of them were caught, kidnapped and assaulted by a trio of women who lived there.

The women involved were sentenced in Napier District Court in late July for their role, receiving a mixture of home detention, community work and supervision.

It was during the captivity that Matiu Kapelieli took advantage of the 13-year-old complainant, touching her thigh and body inappropriately.

The court was told Kapelieli had played no part in the kidnapping, but used it as an opportunity to sit beside the girl supposedly to comfort her before the incident. Some time later, he spotted two girls involved in the egg-throwing incident at a park. Despite being on bail, he grabbed one - an 11-year-old - and kissed her on the forehead.

He faced a charge of indecent assault on a female aged 12 -16, and assault on a child for the offence at the park. Indecent assault is a three-strikes offence, for which the maximum sentence is seven years.

Kapelieli's lawyer Richard Stone argued the touching was not of the most serious kind and he did not know the girl was being unlawfully detained at the time.

Despite this, Judge Tony Adeane said his actions were "all the more alarming" considering his record included obscene exposure, indecent assault and assaulting a female.

He disagreed Kapelieli needed an interpreter as he had lived in New Zealand since 1988, and there was "no remorse evident". Kapelieli was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison. For indecent assault he received 18 months, months for assaulting a child and another six months due to his record.