Raveen Saily, a predator who was awaiting trial for rape, filmed a 13-year-old girl from Rotorua performing a sexual act on him while on bail. It has now come to light that he sent this video to an 11-year-old girl from Auckland, whom he had met on Snapchat and was grooming.
In a recent court appearance at Tauranga District Court, Saily pleaded guilty to charges of grooming for sexual conduct with a young person, indecent communication with a young person, and distributing objectionable material, all related to the Auckland victim.
He is scheduled to be sentenced in December, along with charges related to the sexual violation of the 13-year-old victim from Rotorua.
According to police reports, Saily started communicating with the 11-year-old girl on Snapchat in May 2024. This was while he was facing trial for charges of indecent assault, rape, and sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection involving a 16-year-old girl at the Arataki Community Centre in Mount Maunganui.
Despite being prohibited from accessing the internet or having contact with minors under his bail conditions, Saily continued to engage with young girls on Snapchat.
During his interactions with the 11-year-old girl, Saily pressured her to be his girlfriend, despite her age. Their communication escalated to include sexually explicit content, with Saily coercing her into sending him inappropriate images and videos.
He also made disturbing remarks about his sexual preferences and encouraged the young girl to engage in sexual acts while on video calls. Saily even expressed his intention to travel from Tauranga to Auckland for a sexual encounter with the victim.
In a separate incident, Saily filmed the 13-year-old victim from Rotorua engaging in a sexual act and shared the video with the 11-year-old girl. This led to additional charges against Saily related to grooming and sexual violation of the Rotorua victim.
The discovery of Saily’s illegal activities came about during a routine traffic stop, where police officers became suspicious of the significant age gap between him and the young girl. It was revealed that Saily had engaged in similar predatory behavior with multiple underage girls on Snapchat.
Saily has been sentenced to nine years and two months in prison for the Tauranga incident and is awaiting sentencing for the offenses against the two young victims. The court emphasized the severity of Saily’s actions, particularly targeting vulnerable and naive victims.
Sexual Assault Support
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available:
– Contact Safe to Talk for confidential support 24/7: Call 0800 044 334, Text 4334, or Email support@safetotalk.nz
– Visit safetotalk.nz for more information or to access web chat
– Reach out to your local police station for assistance
Remember, if you have experienced sexual assault, it is not your fault.
Written by Hannah Bartlett, Open Justice reporter
