Tauranga District Court. Photo: SunLive
The Crown will appeal the nine-month home detention sentence given to teenage rapist Jayden Meyer.
Meyer was sentenced to nine-months home detention after he was convicted in Tauranga District Court of raping four girls and sexually violating another, all of whom were 15-years-old at the time of the assaults.
The sentence sparked protests across the country calling for stronger action against sexual predators.
Tauranga Crown solicitor Anna Pollett confirmed the appeal has been filed.
Pollett initially defended the sentence, explaining that a "rehabilitative approach is to protect the community in the long term from re-offending".
"In the circumstances of this prosecution, and in careful consideration of all the available material, the Crown did not oppose a sentence of home detention to balance the need for accountability and deterrence while also maximising the opportunity for intensive rehabilitation of the young person."
The appeal comes just 10 days after a judge in the Tauranga District Court declined an application by the Corrections Department to block internet access for Meyer.
Corrections Deputy Regional Commissioner for the Northern Region Ali Rei said Corrections would continue to monitor him extremely closely.
He was already subject to 20 court-imposed conditions, including that he handed over any device capable of accessing the internet on request, she said.
Meyer, 18, was charged after multiple complaints to police by young women in Bay of Plenty who alleged sexual violence across 2020 and 2021.
The Crown Law Office said it would not make any comment prior to the appeal being heard and determined.
Meyer was sentenced to nine months' home detention and a further 12 months of post-release conditions, including a ban on associating with anyone under 16 and attending a sexual violence prevention programme.
The protests were organised by 18-year-old Spencer McNeil, who was friends with some of the victims.
During the trial, McNeil was subjected to a verbal tirade by Meyer's mother in which she warned the teenager she was a 'lioness' and that he and his friends should watch their backs.