A Christchurch man who was convicted of snatching a 14-year-old girl from a bus stop and sexually violating her has lost a second bid to have the decision overturned.
After an unsuccessful trip to the Court of Appeal, Duane Charles Brendan Paul Burgess sought leave from the Supreme Court to appeal his 2006 conviction of abducting a 14-year-old girl from a Christchurch bus stop for sex, and sexually violating her.
It was his fourth sex attack on women and young girls and he was sentenced to seven years prison. During the jury trial Burgess indicated that he was a victim of an unjust system.
He claimed the original verdict was unreasonable and had resulted in a miscarriage of justice.
But a Supreme Court panel of three judges found the original verdict was not unreasonable and the application for leave to appeal was dismissed.
The judges said Burgess had tried to prove that he could not have been at the scene of the attack as he was caught on nearby tavern security cameras just 12 minutes afterwards.
Burgess's assertion that it took him at least 16 minutes to walk the distance was discounted, as the victim said he ran from the scene.
