Rapist Luca Fairgray has jail term reduced by 6 months after sexually abusing 13-year-old girl

Thursday, 24 July 2025

Sex offender Luca Fairgray started a relationship with a 13-year-old while he was trying to keep his name a secret for previous offending.

He was found guilty of three charges of sexual connection with a young person.

The judge sentenced him to four years and six months’ imprisonment. That sentence has now been reduced to four years.

The convicted rapist who went on to have a secret, illegal, sexual relationship with a 13-year-old while fighting to keep his name suppressed has been successful in getting his jail term reduced - but only by six months.

Earlier this year, Luca Benedict Kercher Fairgray was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty of three charges of sexual connection with a young person and admitting supplying cannabis to the girl.

But this wasn’t the first time Fairgray had been sentenced for sexual charges after he admitted sexually assaulting six girls when he was aged between 14 and 17.

Fairgray fought his suppression regarding those convictions all the way to the Supreme Court.

And it was while he was waiting for New Zealand’s highest court to hear the case for his ongoing suppression, Fairgray began his sexual relationship with the 13-year-old.

On Thursday, the Court of Appeal released its decision allowing his sentence appeal and reducing his term of imprisonment by six months.

His lawyer, Susan Gray, had argued the jail term was “manifestly excessive” and the judge’s starting point was too high.

She said it lacked consistency when looking at other similar cases, meaning the sentence resulted in an injustice that eroded public confidence and made it difficult for counsel to give informed advice to clients.

Gray accepted the distress and harm caused to the victim.

In sentencing Fairgray in March, Judge Thomas said he was satisfied Fairgray knew the girl was 13 when he was 20.

He said while Fairgray will one day be released from prison, the teenager will most likely deal with the consequences for the rest of her life.

“You offended this time, at the first moment you had an opportunity to…”

The judge described Fairgray’s offending as calculated, cynical and deliberate.

“You had full knowledge of your criminal behaviour because you have been here before.”

Prosecutor Pip McNabb opposed the sentence appeal and echoed Judge Thomas’ comments about his calculated and careful offending.

“He has taken advantage of someone who is much younger than him and much more vulnerable.”

McNabb said there was a degree of predatory and premeditated behaviour given Fairgray had met the girl on a chat site where she told him he was 13 and the very next night he went to her house and the pair had sex.

“After the pair developed a relationship… the full truth was kept under wraps,” McNabb said.

Fairgray’s offending

Fairgray met the girl online. She told the court she told him she was 13 before he came to her home while her mother was out.

The pair watched a film, smoked cannabis that Fairgray had brought with him, and began a secret sexual relationship. Fairgray was 20 years old at the time.

He told the court the girl initially lied and said she was 16 and only “confessed” her true age when she became pregnant a month later.

Fairgray drove the girl to a petrol station to undertake a pregnancy test in the bathroom.

Fairgray booked her in for an abortion, providing the girl’s date of birth while lying about his name, age and that he went to the school with the girl.

The relationship was only exposed when the girl ran away from home and police came to Fairgray’s family home looking for her.

When Fairgray’s father opened the front door to two uniformed officers, Fairgray jumped out the window and hid under the house.

“I thought they were coming for me because [the girl] was 13… even though she told me she was 16,” Fairgray told the jurors.

At the sentencing, the court heard how the victim’s relationships with her family had been damaged by Fairgray’s offending. She also found it difficult to trust people and had not been to school for two years.

In 2022, Fairgray was given a “lucky break” and sentenced to home detention after admitting raping and sexually abusing girls and young women at parties.

“You have been given a lucky break here. The Crown asked me to imprison you,” Judge Claire Ryan told him.

“I have not imprisoned you because I do not want to see you back here as an older offender, much more skilled in the ways of committing sexual violence.”

Mia Edmonds is a survivor of Fairgray’s earlier offending and had repeatedly pleaded to the courts to end his name suppression. She even asked the court to revoke her own automatic name suppression to speak out.

“Every woman deserves the choice,” Mia said.

“They deserve to have the opportunity to choose whether that is a person that they want to be near. The fact that he was able to have his name suppressed for this long … because of that, he was able to go and destroy another little girl's life.”

Sexual violence: where to get help

• Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00, click link for local helplines.

• Victim Support 0800 842 846.

• Safetalk text 4334, phone 0800 044 334 webchat safetotalk.nz or email support@safetotalk.nz.

• The Harbour Online support and information for people affected by sexual abuse.

• Women’s Refuge 0800 733 843

• Male Survivors Aotearoa Helplines across NZ, click to find out more (males only).

• If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 111.

• If you or someone you know is in a dangerous situation, click the Shielded icon at the bottom of this website to contact Women's Refuge in a safe and anonymous way without it being traced in your browser history. If you're in our app, visit the mobile website here to access Shielded.