Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
A long-running Wellington rape case, which at one point involved multiple complainants, has ended with one man being sentenced to three years and nine months in jail on a single charge.
The 27-year-old, who was found guilty at a retrial in November 2023, will keep his name secret for now.
At his sentencing Thursday in the Wellington District Court, Judge Peter Hobbs refused permanent name suppression - but has allowed it to continue until next month to allow him to appeal that decision.
The police investigation - code-named Operation Emerald - was triggered by dozens of allegations of sexual assault that surfaced on social media.
At his first trial in October 2022, he was found not guilty on four charges - two of unlawful sexual connection and two of indecent assault - but the jury was unable to reach a decision on four charges of rape.
At the second trial a year later, he was found guilty of raping one woman but not guilty of raping the other.