21 May 2011

Rape couple jailed

4:14 am on 21 May 2011

A Waikato couple has been jailed over the rapes of women they offered lifts home at night.

A jury found Jason Jones and his partner Maureen Iti guilty in February this year and they were sentenced at the Hamilton High Court on Friday.

Jones, 38, has been given nine-and-a-half years in prison on two charges of rape, but will serve the sentence concurrently.

Iti, 33, has been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison after being found guilty on one charge of rape.

The pair befriended the two women in central Hamilton at different times in the second half of 2009, offering them rides home and giving them alcohol before attacking them.

At the trial in February, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on a third charge of rape against the couple and one count of indecent exposure against Jones.

The Crown is seeking a retrial on those charges.