Gay Auckland restaurateur Philip Sturm's appeal against his conviction for drugging and raping a younger man has been dismissed by the Court of Appeal. Philip David Sturm was jailed for nine years last May after being convicted of six charges of sexual violation and stupefaction against four men, all aged in their 20's. Sturm appealed against two charges of sexual violation and one of stupefaction with intent to facilitate commission of a crime against the complainant referred to in court as 'A'. The grounds of appeal were that the jury was misdirected on the stupefaction charge leading to all three guilty verdicts being unsafe. However, the Court of Appeal dismissed Sturm's case. "We see no merit in the suggestion the verdict on the stupefying count somehow 'coloured' the other verdicts." At his sentencing in the High Court in Auckland last May, Justice Hugh Williams told Sturm it was a deplorable crime and the victim Sturm had anal sex with had been affected in a catastrophic way. He had given up his tertiary education and since the incident had been a lost soul. He was still deeply traumatised several years after the event. It was the second time Sturm had been on trial on the charges after the Court of Appeal ordered a new trial when both Sturm's lawyer and the Crown appealed. The judge told Sturm two juries had found there was no consent from any of the victims. Victim impact reports were not up to date because none of the victims had wanted anything more to do with the case, he said. None of the victims knew each other and in spite of two trials none of the victims had met, he said. One victim had drunk so much in November, 2003, he was comatose but at 4am he awoke and began walking along Great North Road. Sturm did not know him but had picked up him up in his Porsche and had taken him to his office in the city where he gave him drugs and alcohol to the point where he was ‘stupefied'. He was out of control, powerless, and incapable of resisting, said the judge. "He was unable to do anything but go along with anything you suggested." He ordered that $10,000 reparation Sturm had paid into the court be divided equally among the three victims or to whichever victims would accept it. Ref: NZPA (m)