Man sentenced to nine years after brutal assault, rape and protection order failure

The Whangārei District Court sentenced a Northland man to nine years in prison after finding him guilty of rape, assault, threatening to kill and breaching a protection order. The violence began after police halted the pair in Kaikohe, where the man’s licence was suspended and the assault escalated, culminating in a rape at a remote site in Waimate North. The victim had previously given a video interview to police, but during the trial she claimed most of that account was false, a stance the judge and jury dismissed.

Judge John McDonald described the protection order as “no better than a piece of soiled toilet paper,” emphasizing its failure to safeguard the woman. He also rejected the defendant’s claim of being a full-time father, noting his absence from childcare duties on the day of the attack. The court noted the victim’s extreme vulnerability after repeated head assaults with a wooden bat and the perpetrator’s threats that she would die. The sentencing underscores the limitations of protection orders and the seriousness of family violence offences.