An Indian immigrant scientist has been spared jail for molesting three senior school girls he was tutoring in New Zealand.
Once-well-respected entomologist and “highly sought-after” tutor Dr Rashmi Kant, 51, was found guilty of 11 charges of indecent assault of a female over the age of 16 during a jury trial, but was sentenced to just 11 months in home detention in the Napier District Court on Friday.
Kant, who lives in Havelock North, touched the girls’ thighs and breasts over their clothing and in one case placed his hand inside a bra while tutoring the girls in 2023 and 2024, Stuff reported.
During his trial Kant denied the offending, claiming any touching was accidental or congratulatory, leading Crown prosecutor Amber Hutton to argue there was an “absence of genuine remorse” and home detention would be inappropriate.
But Judge Bridget Mackintosh said she believed Kant was remorseful even thought he “did not quite acknowledge [the victim’s] allegations” and called his offending “surprising”.
“You’re a very well qualified professional man. You’re highly intelligent … and you were highly sought after,” she said during sentencing
“You have been a senior scientist at your place of work, you have undertaken further studies, you have a PhD… you are well thought of in your community.
“There will be a significant fall from grace.”
Judge Mackintosh also noted that the victims were “seriously affected by what happened” and had “ongoing issues with self worth and psychological and emotional issues”.
She imposed a sentence of 11 months’ home detention with conditions extending for another six months that Kant attend counselling and not contact his victims.
Kant offered to pay his victims $500 each for emotional harm and refund their tutoring fees.
According to an online biography, Kant studied and worked at Delhi University before completing his PhD at Massey University in Auckland. He then went on to work for government agency The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research as a senior scientist.
Header image : Rashmi Kant (Facebook).
