Serial rapist Malcolm Rewa has admitted to sexually attacking another woman.
By Sam Sherwood and Jessica Hopkins of RNZ
Rewa is serving a life sentence in prison after being found guilty of the 1992 murder of Papatoetoe woman Susan Burdett in 2019.
He was already serving a sentence of preventive detention with a minimum non-parole period of 22 years, having been convicted of sexual attacks on 25 women.
Teina Pora was wrongfully convicted of Burdett's rape and murder in 1994, found guilty again at a retrial in 2000, but eventually the convictions were quashed by the Privy Council in 2015.
Appearing via video link at the High Court in Auckland earlier today, Rewa pleaded guilty to one charge of sexual violation by rape that dates back to June 18, 1988.
His lawyer, Mark Jepson, said his client was not seeking a continued name suppression.
Rewa is due to be sentenced on April 17, 2026.
Detective Inspector Scott Beard earlier confirmed to RNZ police had charged a man over a historical stranger sexual assault in Auckland during the late 1980s.
"An investigation was carried out at the time when the alleged rape occurred in Onehunga on June 18, 1988.
"Enquiries available to detectives at the time were unable to identify the perpetrator."
In May last year, the complainant contacted police to review her case.
"This was assigned to an investigator in the Auckland City Adult Sexual Assault Team.
"Police have since charged a 72-year-old man with rape."
Beard was unable to go into the specifics of the 2025 inquiries, given that court proceedings were underway.
"However, it is pleasing that we can bring this matter to the courts on behalf of the complainant, given there is no statute of limitations on this sort of offending."
Failed appeal
Rewa fought for a retrial of his conviction with the Court of Appeal, which was dismissed in January 2023.
Rewa's lawyers had argued his trial lawyer, Paul Chambers, was "incompetent".
They also argued a witness, whose name and other details have been suppressed by the court, and who was in a sexual relationship with Susan Burdett, had motive to kill her.
After failing to have his conviction overturned, Rewa later applied to appeal in the Supreme Court, calling his trial a miscarriage of justice.
A decision from the Supreme Court said his appeal was filed nine months late, but due to the extensive material to consider, this was allowed.
However, his appeal has been dismissed as the Supreme Court said there was no risk of a miscarriage of justice.
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