A 15-year-old Blenheim boy who had sex with an 11-year-old girl he met through Facebook has been sentenced to eight months' home detention.
The boy, who is now 16 and has name suppression, admitted a charge of having sexual connection with a child aged under 12 when he appeared in the Blenheim District Court yesterday. He was initially charged with rape, which he denied.
Crown prosecutor Hugh Boyd-Wilson said the boy had the sexual act in mind when he arranged to meet the girl via text messaging.
She tried to push him off her and stop him removing her shorts, but could not, Mr Boyd-Wilson said.
Defence lawyer Mike Turner said the girl found the boy on Facebook and despite not having met him before, sent him a text message. The next day, they were both at a Renwick skate park but did not interact much. Later that day, more texts were sent and the boy worked out that they were from the girl.
The boy later attended a party, where he drank so much alcohol that he vomited, Mr Turner said. After he got home, the girl sent him a text asking to meet, as they lived close to each other.
After sitting together on the side of the road, they kissed and had sexual intercourse in what was a spontaneous act, Mr Turner said.
He said the boy thought the girl was 14, but she had just turned 11.
The boy had been on electronic bail since June.
Judge David McKegg said he did not accept that the boy believed the girl was 14.
Despite not meeting her before he arranged to meet her after the party, he "without prior warning climbed on top of her, removed her lower clothing and had sexual intercourse with her" that lasted five to 10 minutes, he said. Afterwards, the girl gathered up her clothes and left immediately.
The judge said there was "no doubt" that the boy's actions had affected the girl and her family. A psychological assessment showed that the boy was at high risk of reoffending if he did not get help.
Judge McKegg sentenced the boy to eight months' home detention with conditions including a ban on alcohol, drugs and access to the internet. He is also barred from seeing anyone under the age of 16 without written permission from a probation officer. The conditions would last six months after the sentence finished, Judge McKegg said.
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