escalating violence in our community Become a member of the Sensible Sentencing Trust

Mouseover links for full page descriptions

Offender Databases Muneshwar Reddy

Muneshwar Reddy

Alias

.

Offences

Sexual violation of a 14 year old Tauranga girl in January 2007 - and gave her an STD
We have been advised he has a track record of previous similar offending in Fiji

Victims

.

Offender Affiliations

.

Gang affiliations

none

Age

Born 1980

Current Location

unknown

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to 14 months in May 2007, plus $1000 reperation for emotional harm
Leave was granted to apply for home detention

Background
Bay of Plenty Times Story 16th May 2007 here
Soccer star jailed over sex with girl, 14
Muneshwar Reddy was one of Fiji's brightest soccer stars and came to New Zealand in September in a blaze of glory aiming to establish a better way of life for himself and his family. But on January 31 the 27-year-old Fijian national soccer team member irrevocably tarnished his reputation after he offered a 14-year-old girl a lift home and ended up taking her to his Avenues home and having sexual intercourse with her.

The court was told how the teenager had been drinking spirits at her home with a cousin while their parents were away from the house. She became drunk and later walked out, and was spotted walking along the Fraser St by Reddy, who asked for directions and then offered to drop her home but took her to his home instead. Reddy told his victim he'd run out of petrol and if she came inside he'd call a taxi. While she waited for it to arrive he took a shower.

Reddy suggested the girl have a shower and then change in his bedroom, and as she was changing he came in and started kissing her, then proceeded to have sexual intercourse with her. Reddy then rang a taxi for her to return home, where the girl immediately told her mother.

Reddy initially denied the offence but earlier this month pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual conduct with a person under 16. The maximum penalty is 10 years' imprisonment. Yesterday in Tauranga District Court at Reddy's sentencing hearing, Crown prosecutor Sharee Christensen told Judge Louis Bidois that the Crown was seeking a prison sentence of 3 years 6 months before any credit for mitigating factors. Ms Christensen said this took into account the aggravated features of Reddy's offending, which the fact that he'd clearly taken advantage, given the disparity in their ages.

Not only is the victim emotionally scarred by the incident, she has been dealt a "double blow" after learning she got a sexually transmitted disease from Reddy, which will affect her for the rest of her life, she said. Reddy's lawyer Craig Tuck argued that the starting point suggested by the Crown was far too high given Reddy is a first-time offender whose actions were totally out of character .

Mr Tuck said what occurred was not only "cataclysmic and catastrophic' for the victim and her family but Reddy and his family still back in his homeland as well. "It's a lose-lose situation for everybody." Reddy, a married man, who had been revered back in his small village in Fiji, had not only irrevocably tarnished his reputation and good character but his father has ostracised him since his crime first hit the headlines, he said.

'It's been a grievous blow to them and Mr Reddy will have to live with the consequences of his actions for the rest of his life," Mr Tuck said. Extension of Reddy's resident's visa, which was due to expire early next year, was now in doubt, he said. Mr Tuck urged Judge Bidois to give Reddy the maximum discount for his genuine remorse expressed in a letter of apology to his victim, his early guilty pleas and other mitigating factors.

Reddy would be a perfect candidate for home detention because of his past exemplary behaviour, he said. Judge Bidois agreed, saying he accepted Reddy's fall from grace was totally out of character and there was no doubt he had been publicly shamed as a result of his actions. "You have been described as a person of strong character but on this occasion in moment of weakness you let yourself down."

Judge Bidois said while he accepted Reddy was motivated to address any issues so his crime won't happen again, the victim's views were paramount when considering an appropriate sentence. In her victim impact statement the girl said she had almost been brought to breaking point since the incident, the judge said.

Judge Bidois jailed Reddy for 14 months after allowing a 10-month discount on an otherwise two-year prison term but granted him leave to apply for home detention. Reddy was also ordered to pay $1000 emotional harm repayment to his victim. On release from jail Reddy must undergo six months' supervision, including courses and counselling to address the causes of his offending.

---

Corrections and Additional Information
We endeavour to make this database as accurate as possible, but we are at the mercy of whatever information we can find in various online and offline archives. We rely on the public - that is, people like you - to fill in the gaps that we cannot. If you wish to submit additional information or a correction to this file CLICK HERE . Privacy: Trust policy is that all sources are treated as strictly confidential unless we are explicitly told otherwise. If you wish to see a file removed from this database certain conditions must be met by the offender set out HERE Note that this does NOT apply for those that are the primary offender in a murder, rape, or any sexual offending involving minors. We do not enter into correspondence regarding the guilt/innocence of offenders. Such correspondence is not responded to, especially if the offender concerned has a number of prior convictions

Back to Top