'Professional' masseur who indecently assaulted woman during a massage fails in bid to appeal sentence - Stuff

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Chris Skelton/The Press

'Professional' masseur and convicted rapist Tangapiri Teikamata has failed in his bid to appeal his conviction and prison sentence for the indecent assault of a woman during a massage.


A “seriously concerning sexual predator” jailed for indecently assaulting a young woman during a massage has failed in his bid to overturn his conviction and sentence.

Tangapiri Teikamata, also known as Tangapiri Tito, 58, was charged in 2018 with indecent assault over an incident three years earlier. The assault took place during a massage.

Teikamata – a convicted rapist who also previously indecently assaulted other women during massages – was sentenced to two years and one month in the Christchurch District Court in September after earlier pleading guilty to the charge. He later sought to vacate that plea, which was declined.

Representing himself at an appeal hearing in the High Court earlier in June, Teikamata argued he had previously been wrongly charged and convicted, as his real name was Tangapiri Tito, not Teikamata.

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He also argued that he was forced to plead guilty and did not in fact do so.


During his appeal hearing he claimed the sentencing judge, Judge David Ruth, had not allowed him his right to vacate his guilty plea.

Teikamata did not actually attend his sentencing – which went ahead in his absence – claiming he had Covid-19.

At the appeal hearing, Teikamata said this was a violation of due process and presented bias on behalf of Judge Ruth. These arguments formed the basis of his appeal against conviction.

Regarding his prison sentence, Teikamata argued the sentencing judge had made an error in calculation that resulted in him receiving two extra months in custody.

However, this was dealt with during the appeal hearing when Justice Helen Cull explained the calculation, and Teikamata eventually accepted it had been correctly calculated.


The Press

Tangapiri Teikamata, pictured here prior to his September sentencing, is still in custody.


At the appeal hearing, Teikamata professed his innocence to the High Court judge, insisting on a number of occasions that he was not guilty.

“I thought the rules say you have to be guilty to be thrown in prison. It never happened.”

In a judgment released on Wednesday, Justice Cull said she was satisfied that Tangapiri Teikamata and Tangapiri Tito were one and the same person.

She also found the sentencing judge made no procedural errors during his sentencing, and noted there was “compelling evidence” in contradiction to Teikamata’s claims that he was not guilty.

Justice Cull dismissed his appeals against both the conviction and sentence.

The convicted rapist, whose offending dates back 25 years, previously filed documents to the court claiming he was no longer called Tangapiri Teikamata and that he was an “independent or sovereign person”.

He has been represented by 11 different lawyers during his time in court.

Much of the details around his most recent offending have been suppressed.


During sentencing, Judge Ruth said he regarded Teikamata as a “seriously concerning sexual predator”.

Teikamata was convicted in 2008 for raping and assaulting a woman, and he has four previous convictions for indecently assaulting two women during “sports massages” dating back to 1998.

He was also jailed in 2017 for a year for indecently assaulting an 18-year-old woman, also in 2015.

According to the summary of facts for that crime, Teikamata offered the victim a massage, claiming to be a “professional masseuse”, and indecently assaulted her.


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