A prominent Christchurch man has had an appeal against his conviction dismissed by the Court of Appeal.
Peter Stewart, 62, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison this year for the sodomy and rape of a young girl between 1967 and 1974.
Stewart appealed against the conviction on the basis that his trial was unfair and that the presiding judge erred when directing the jury.
But the Court of Appeal on Wednesday dismissed that, saying it found no imbalance in the way the jury was directed to make its decision.
Stewart is the son of the plastics and electrical industrialist, the late Sir Robertson Stewart.
