Rapist demanded ‘respect’ from victim
File image. © Andrew Bardwell
A woman was told that she must open her eyes because it was “disrespectful” not to watch while she was being raped.
The Christchurch District Court was also told she was raped while her boyfriend was locked out of the building but could hear what was happening.
The woman was at court to see Tari Oriwa Mace, 39, imprisoned for nine years by Judge Raoul Neave.
Mace had pleaded guilty to the rape charge on the eve of his jury trial last year, and the judge reduced his sentence because he had not gone ahead with the trial which would have forced the victim to give evidence.
The judge noted that a psychological report showed that was “functioning at a lower level than most people do”.
However, it was not seen as a factor in his offending. It did explain why his defence counsel, Rupert Glover, had been unable to convince him until the last minute that he should “inevitably” plead guilty.
Mace had also admitted a charge of assaulting another woman.
The Crown said the rape occurred on June 5, 2013, at an address in Christchurch.
Mace had forced the woman, who was ill from drinking, to perform oral sex on him and then raped her.
He told she must open her eyes while she was being raped. He told her: “Look at me. It’s disrespectful not to look at me.”
Judge Neave said: “The notion that you can behave in this way and talk to her about her disrespect is quite frightening.”
The woman’s boyfriend had been locked out of the building but had been able to hear the rape happening, said the judge.
He said the victim impact report said the woman had been scared she would die during the attack, and she still felt the effects of it.
The judge said he was also reducing the sentence to nine years’ jail because of administrative delays in the case, which were not caused by Mace. But he added to the sentence because of his previous record, which included 10 convictions for violence.
Category: Focus
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