Rapist Hoped Bail Jumping Would Stop Trial

Auckland, March 19 NZPA - Pravin Kumar hoped his efforts to skip bail and miss his trial date might help him avoid a trial on two rape charges.

Instead, a jury found him guilty at a trial held in his absence -- and his attempt to hook up with a woman via the internet led to him being arrested afterwards.

Today the 41-year-old was sentenced in the High Court in Auckland to preventive detention by Justice Chris Allan with a minimum imprisonment period of seven years on two charges of rape, two of kidnapping, one of male assaults female and one of indecent assault.

The sentence means he can only be released once the seven years have elapsed if he admits to his offending and shows the authorities it is safe to release him.

Read more here. Are you on Twitter? So are we! You can find us here!

Phila. D.A. Says Bail System is "Broken"

Decrying the massive number of fugitives from justice in Philadelphia, District Attorney Seth Williams said yesterday that the city's "broken" bail system amounted to a second assault on crime victims.

Speaking at a Senate subcommittee hearing, Williams said Philadelphia defendants had learned to "defeat the system" by failing to show up for court, wearing down witnesses and causing cases to collapse in large numbers each year.

"When defendants are fugitives and fail to appear, it revictimizes our victims," he said. "They don't get their cup of justice filled."

As The Inquirer reported last month, Philadelphia has almost 47,000 long-term fugitives, one of the nation's highest tallies.

Read more here.