‘I made a mistake’: Convicted rapist ‘disgusted’ he abused a 13-year-old girl

Friday, 26 June 2026

Luca Fairgray was convicted of sexual crimes against six teen girls in 2022.

Months after finishing his home detention sentence, and while still under conditions, he began an illegal relationship with a 13-year-old.

Fairgray appeared before the Parole Board on Thursday where he was questioned about his sexual offending.

He was denied parole.

A convicted rapist who sexually abused a 13-year-old girl while fighting to keep his name suppressed, says he’s “disgusted by my behaviour back then” and “I made a mistake”.

Luca Benedict Kercher Fairgray, 23, is serving a four year prison sentence after he was found guilty of three charges of sexual connection with a young person and admitted supplying her cannabis.

He was 20-years-old when he abused the teenager and paid for her to have an abortion.

Fairgray’s illegal relationship with the girl began just two months after completing a “lucky break” home detention sentence for sexually assaulting six girls, two of whom he raped, when he was aged between 14-17.

It happened as he fought to keep his name suppressed regarding those crimes all the way to the Supreme Court.

Fairgray appeared before the Parole Board for the first time on Thursday in relation to his offending against the 13-year-old, where panel member Paul Knox questioned him at length about the offending and how it came to happen.

“I was in a place of isolation,” Fairgray replied.

At trial, Fairgray claimed the girl told him she was 16. She told the jury she had said she was 13.

Knox asked, given Fairgray had previously completed a programmed for sexual offenders, whether at the time he understood the victim was “very young”.

“I guess I was somewhat impulsive … I didn’t think enough about it, about the effect it would have at the time.”

Knox asked Fairgray what he thought about it now.

“To be honest, I am quite disgusted by my behaviour back then. I am also very remorseful … I made a mistake, acted in a way that I should have known better.”

Knox questioned Fairgray about why it was so important to consider the victim’s age.

“Because it is illegal and immoral,” Fairgray replied.

When asked when he “became aware what he was doing was wrong”, Fairgray said it was at the point the young girl became pregnant.

Knox said: “I do note, when you took her to the abortion clinic, you lied about your age.

“You had clear awareness the age difference was a problem.”

Fairgray said he also lied to his parents about how old the teen was and was hoping to feel less isolated when he initiated the relationship as he didn’t have many friends.

“Could it be in fact, the reason you sought that relationship was so you could exploit a vulnerable person for sex?” Knox said.

Fairgray disagreed and said the relationship was “more than just sex”.

“We talked to one another, did various things. It wasn’t purely a sexual relationship.”

When asked about his previous offending, Fairgray was asked to explain how, despite receiving treatment, he went on to reoffend.

“I feel as though the SAFE treatment wasn’t as effective and I also didn’t complete the group component of the SAFE programme. Most offenders would have access to the group component, since I was 18 or 19 at the time…that doesn’t explain it in full. Various other factors that contributed to reoffending.”

Those other factors, Fairgray said, were lack of self control and impulsivity.

‘A secret relationship’

Fairgray met the teen online. 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.

At his trial, he said the girl initially lied and said she was 16 and only “confessed” her true age when she became pregnant a month later.

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 jury.

At his sentencing in 2024, the judge said he was satisfied Fairgray knew the teen was 13.

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

Before sexually abusing the 13-year-old, Fairgray had sexually assaulted six teenagers. He targeted some of those girls at parties, sexually abused some by isolating them in a bedroom, while others were sexually assaulted in front of friends and the abuse only stopped when others intervened.

Fairgray admitted sexually abusing the girls and when he was sentenced the judge said she was giving him a “lucky break” in imposing home detention.

“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,” the judge said.

At Thursday’s hearing, Fairgray’s case manager told the board he was on the list to begin the Te Piriti programme in January 2027. The programme is a specialist, intensive treatment for child sex offenders and runs for about 8 months.

Fairgray said he’d learnt 'various coping strategies” for his autism and ADHD.

He was declined parole and will be seen again by the board in September 2027 after completing the programme.

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.