French tourist raped at gunpoint

WELLINGTON - A 24-year-old French tourist who wanted to experience “the real New Zealand” was abducted and raped after he accepted an offer of accommodation in a derelict house bus near Opotoki, in the far East Coast of the North Island.

His rapist, Teiro Ngaa Kitai, 32, a scrap metal trader, pleaded guilty Monday in Tauranga District Court to three charges of sexually violating the tourist, the New Zealand Herald newspaper reported Thursday.

Crown prosecutor Rob Ronayne told the Herald that the victim was an experienced traveller who wanted to get off the beaten track.

“He said he had wanted to experience the real New Zealand,” Ronayne said.

After a night drinking at the home of a friend of Kitai’s, Kitai took the tourist home, threatened him with an air pistol and forced him to carry out sexual acts.

Detective Brent Andersen told the Herald that the victim was prepared to return and testify at trial. Kitai’s guilty plea meant that the victim would not be required in court, Andersen said.

Andersen said he was glad Kitai had been quickly brought to justice.

“Tourism is a big part of this area, and everyone goes out of their way to help people,” the detective told the New Zealand Herald. “… It was a shock for this community. Everyone was outraged by it.”