Auckland motel rape: guilty sentenced to three and a half years

A man who raped a young woman in an Auckland motel was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

Judge Geoffrey Venning previously found the man guilty after a short trial, prompting an outburst from the defendant.

“You’re so full of shit dude. You have no reason to convict me,” said the defendant, who has name deletion.

The defendant and the plaintiff had met for a date, drinking for the first time in bars on the Auckland Viaduct in April 2018.

They later ended up in an Auckland motel, where the complainant felt drunk.

When things went further than she was comfortable with, she made it clear that she did not consent, the court has heard.

Today the Auckland High Court heard the victim’s impact statement.

“At first I tried to block everything as if nothing had happened,” he said.

“I thought if I didn’t think about that, I was protecting myself.”

But in the back of her mind she was worried about what she would do if she saw him on the street.

“Could you put your head down and keep walking?

“I don’t think you realize the impact you had on me that night.”

Some nights he would wake up “crying and screaming.”

“I had to check that the door to my house was closed at least three times every night because I was afraid that you would find me.

“I lost a lot of confidence and became extremely paranoid.

“I don’t want your sympathy, but I want you to know that this has not been an easy road for me.”

It had taken her time, strength and tears to be able to talk about what she did.

She was a different person now.

“I am not afraid. I am strong. I am not alone. I am loved.

“I have so much to look forward to in my life and I will not look back.”

She said she would never say his name again.

“You no longer have any power over me.”

Defense attorney Tiffany Cooper said her client “is very well loved by his family and enjoys tremendous support.”

Judge Venning said it appears from his response to the verdict that he does not accept the crime.

“You have no regrets or perception.”

The Superior Court judge said the man had a problematic upbringing and that his parents had separated when he was young.

“Your mother rejected you. That may somehow explain your attitude toward women,” Judge Venning said.

The man laughed from the dock in response.

Cooper had provided the court with a series of letters of support that “paint a more positive picture.”

“He is fortunate to have that support,” Judge Venning said.