Indian-origin man held guilty of rapes in New Zealand

A court in New Zealand Friday held an Indian-origin man guilty of kidnapping two young women and raping them.

Pravin Fia Hari Prasad Kumar faced retrial in the Auckland High Court on charges of rape, kidnapping and sexual assault of two young women in 2008, Fairfax media reported.

The court was told that Kumar's first victim was a prostitute who initially agreed to have sex with him in exchange for money Sep 27, 2008.

The woman had asked Kumar to pay up first and wear condom but he didn't agree.

He drove her to a remote location in Wiri, South Auckland, and raped her.

Crown prosecutor Alysha McClintock told the court that Kumar approached the second victim on the side of a road Oct 8, 2008, and offered her a lift home.

But Kumar took the woman to a liquor store, bought alcohol and then drove her to a remote location near Auckland airport and raped her in the back of the car.

He will be sentenced in December.

While on bail for the 2008 rapes, Kumar did not attend his first trial.

He also escaped electronic monitoring and the court convicted him in his absence.

A court of appeal later quashed the conviction and ordered a retrial.