According to the summary of facts, the man and woman were married, although had separated in 2020 but were still in contact.
The man had picked up the woman from hospital, where she was recovering from surgery after an injury, and dropped her off at her home before going to work.
He returned later to look after the woman and offered to help her shower. Afterwards, he asked her if she wanted to have sex with him, but she declined.
Later that night the woman had taken pain medication the hospital had prescribed to her as well as sleeping pills. She also took more pain medication her daughter had given her.
The woman lay on the couch drifting in and out of consciousness. The man lifted her blanket and removed her pants and underwear while she was asleep.
He then sexually violated her. The woman tried to pull away, but the man persisted, causing bruising to her leg. He then sexually violated her a second time.
Judge Mark Callaghan said the woman was “disorientated and couldn’t resist” the man and was incredibly vulnerable due to the medication she had taken.
The court heard that the woman’s “whole life changed’ following the incident and has lost her trust in men. She also didn’t leave her house and suffered seizures, depression and anxiety.
She could not return to work because of mental health issues and was on the benefit. She was also seeing a counsellor each week and struggled with daily activities like eating and sleeping.
The man’s lawyer Emma Nicholl said her client expressed remorse for what had happened and was prepared to meet with the victim to apologise during a restorative justice meeting, but this didn’t go ahead.
The man was willing to address his alcoholism and engage in rehabilitation to address his behaviour.
Nicholl asked the judge to consider her client’s previous good character and early guilty plea when imposing a sentence. He was also assessed as having a low risk of reoffending.
Judge Callaghan said the effects of the offending against the woman were “substantial and devastating”, stressing the breach of trust as the victim trusted the man to care for her while she was recovering.
“You were there to assist her with her release from hospital and then you took advantage of her when she had taken medication and was in a semi-conscious state.”
Judge Callaghan gave the man discounts for his previous good character, noting he had no previous convictions and his early guilty pleas, stating “You are clearly sorry for what you did.”
He sentenced the man to 11 months’ home detention and ordered him to make an emotional harm payment of $1000 to the victim. He also granted a protection order in favour of the woman.
Emily Moorhouse is a Christchurch-based Open Justice journalist at NZME. She joined NZME in 2022. Before that, she was at the Christchurch Star.
