Two Indian-origin men have been sentenced up to 17 years in jail in New Zealand for abducting two teen-aged girls and repeatedly raping one of them.
Benjamin Nilesh Goundar and Ashumendra Rohit Prasad abducted a 15-year-old girl and her 17-year-old cousin and rapped the younger one for five hours in December 2011 in Hamilton, the High Court in Hamilton was told.
Justice Ailsa Duffy of the High Court sentenced Goundar, 24, to jail for 16 years and Prasad, 27, for 15 years after they were convicted for rape, sexual violation and abduction.
The judge ordered Goundar to serve at least six and a half years of the sentence, and a minimum term for Prasad of five and a half years.
According to media reports from New Zealand, after being persuaded by Goundar and Prasad to get in a car in 2011, they became worried after they were taken to a rural property on the outskirts of the city.
The 17-year-old escaped but the 15-year-old was unable to escape and she was driven to a layby in Tamahere, about 7-km away, where she was repeatedly raped for five hours, Fairfax NZ News reported.
The judge said neither of the men was remorseful and both lacked insight into their offending.
