Mohammed Aziz was sentenced to nine years in jail on a representative charge of rape and a charge of possession of an objectionable publication.\u00a0<\/span>Photo:\u00a0Open Justice\/Tracy Neal<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The court heard the girl was upset she had broken up with her boyfriend and confided in Aziz, a man known to her, about what had happened.<\/p>\n He suggested they go to a room to talk about it further, to prevent others from hearing.<\/p>\n As she sat on a bed, she told him how sad and heartbroken she was.<\/p>\n He comforted her by hugging her and rubbing her back, then removed her clothing and raped her.<\/p>\n Later that evening the teen emailed her school teacher, asking him if she could talk to him about something “serious and important”.<\/p>\n The police were notified and she disclosed historical sexual violations, later confirmed as having occurred regularly for almost six years.<\/p>\n She also told police Aziz had taken pictures and videos of her in the shower.<\/p>\n Days later, as the victim’s mother messaged the man, he told her he had “found naked images of the victim” in a folder in his phone.<\/p>\n After his home was searched in April 2024, he gave a statement to the police but denied any sexual activity took place.<\/p>\n He provided a DNA sample to police, but the next day he drove to Christchurch and left the country.<\/p>\n Clothing worn by the victim at the time of the offending was seized and subsequently forensically examined.<\/p>\n Aziz’s DNA was found on the clothing and on the victim after a medical examination.<\/p>\n He was arrested at Auckland Airport on his return in August 2025, more than a year after he fled, Crown prosecutor Sophie O’Donoghue said.<\/p>\n “This was a long period of absence in which he prioritised his own needs,” she said.<\/p>\n The Crown, in seeking a 12-year prison starting point, pointed to the frequency of rapes over a long time and the ongoing premeditation involved.<\/p>\n O’Donoghue said Aziz was not entitled to any discount for remorse because he had minimised what occurred and insulted the victim by claiming he had raped her “only once”.<\/p>\n She said Aziz said in a pre-sentence report he intended to undertake rehabilitation, but his comments to the report writer “had not scratched the surface of the offending”.<\/p>\n Defence lawyer Amanda Godwin achieved the 25 percent discount sought for Aziz’s guilty plea, which spared the victim from a trial.<\/p>\n She said Aziz wanted to engage in a sex offender’s rehabilitation programme, had expressed shame and insight into the harm caused to the victim, and had returned to New Zealand to face the charges.<\/p>\n Judge Snell refused to accept a causal connection between Aziz’s offending and claims he had been raised in an environment where he suffered abuse.<\/p>\n “Can you explain how something which happened 40 years earlier coincided with him repeatedly raping this girl?” he asked.<\/p>\n Judge Snell said in setting a 12-year prison starting point that Aziz’s possession of the objectionable material was an aggravating factor, and he was sentenced to nine months in prison for that, to be served concurrently.<\/p>\n He declined any discount for the potential impact of imprisonment on Aziz’s child.<\/p>\n Judge Snell said Aziz had no hesitation abandoning the child when he fled New Zealand.<\/p>\n While he may not be able to have any relationship with the child in the foreseeable future, “that does not appear to be a bad thing”, Judge Snell said.<\/p>\n He said in arriving at a nine-year prison term, the 25 percent discount for Aziz’s guilty plea was “generous”.<\/p>\n A protection order sought by the victim was granted and Aziz was automatically registered as a child sex offender.<\/p>\n His release date would be set by the Parole Board.<\/p>\nThe break-up<\/h3>\n
No ‘causal connection’<\/h3>\n
Guilty plea discount ‘generous’<\/h3>\n
Where to get help:<\/h3>\n
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