Two men found guilty of raping a girl on a New Brighton surf club roof have each been sentenced to at least eight years in prison.
Parampreet Singh, 26, and Amritpal Singh, 23, raped the 17-year-old girl.
The pair met the girl on dating website Tagged late last year. Eventually, they met when the men picked up the girl from her house and gave her vodka.
The crown said the men encouraged her to drink quickly.
Amritpal Singh left Parampreet alone with the girl saying he was making a phone call to his family. Parampreet Singh had sex with the girl in his car. Amritpal Singh returned and the pair took the victim up the stairs to the surf club roof where they sexually assaulted her.
They then returned the girl home, missing clothes and her house keys.
Both defence counsels said the convicted men believed they had consent from the victim. Both originally from Punjab in India, cultural differences had contributed to the pair’s lack of clear understanding of consent, their lawyers said.
Judge Jane Farish dismissed this as “grossly unreasonable”.
She sentenced Amritpal Singh to eight years and two months in prison, while Parampreet Singh got eight years and six months.
Amritpal Singh’s slightly reduced sentence was due to the remorse he showed during the trial, Judge Farish said.
She said the victim had suffered serious psychological harm and now found social situations difficult.
The victim left the court crying as the two men were led away.
