The man who bashed his stepdaughter's rapist has no regrets about his actions that day.

Even after being found guilty by a jury of injuring Jason Haward with intent to injure, he only regrets not pleading to a lesser charge.

Malcolm – not his real name, to protect his stepdaughter's identity – did what he presumed every father in his situation would have done.

It was early in the evening on April 21 last year when he heard the scream. He had been kicking, back having a couple of drinks with family.

READ MORE:

* Beach rapist jailed

* Rapist has no memory of beating

* Stepdad heard rape victim sobbing

Instead of a quiet evening he came out to see his naked stepdaughter crouched down by a car in the driveway with a man standing over her.

"He was grabbing at her," he said.

There was some confusion before his partner told him that their daughter - Malcolm has been part of her life since she was two - had been raped.

"I lost the plot, I realised she had been attacked and started hitting him."

That man was Haward, who would later be convicted of rape and jailed for seven years and six months.

A woman who ran out of a nearby house turned out to be Haward's partner. They left and Malcolm tried to find them. He recognised a voice nearby and was shocked to discover how close their house was.

Police were called. Malcolm ended up at the police station. He made a statement but was not charged.

He said police told him that, under the circumstances, it was what any reasonable person would do and to not worry about it.

The police had their own problems that week. A day earlier, Pita Tekira had shot and killed police dog Gazza in Porirua and Sergeant Jonathan Westrupp had to jump through a second floor window to escape.

The resulting standoff with police lasted 26 hours. In Paraparaumu, Malcolm felt like he was getting nowhere with police.

He had spent the night with his stepdaughter in his bedroom. He could hear her sobbing.

He and his partner had tried to get their daughter to a doctor but were told they needed to go to a special clinic in Wellington that carried out testing in rape cases.

Eventually they managed to get that done, but without police arranging it. Malcolm was angry. They had been told the delay meant any DNA evidence might be compromised.

They then wanted to give the reference number to police, but it was easier said than done.

Unable to get hold of any police officer on the case by phone, they drove to the Kapiti police station.

With the front counter closed - the Kapiti station is not open 24 hours a day - they repeatedly pushed the intercom button and called out.

Nothing worked. They gave up, deciding to try calling again. The drive home changed all that after they noticed Haward on the side of the road.

Malcolm is clear that he made up his mind to hold Haward until police could arrive. He says he punched after Haward swung first. It ended up with Haward in hospital and Malcolm arrested.

"I will not accept that what I did was wrong for one split second," Malcolm says. "I was angry, I was upset, I was frustrated."

Now he is disgusted with the whole justice system and does not know how he could have been found guilty.

"But I don't regret it for a minute."

He was a bit relieved to hear Wellington District Court judge Peter Butler say he is unlikely to go to prison, but says the impact on his family has been terrible, having to deal with his charge on top of his stepdaughter's situation.

"We feel like we were punished because she was raped."

Malcolm will find out in June what penalty he will face.