'Loving husbands' sent to jail

Two men jailed for a pack rape 16 years ago wept yesterday as their wives told the High Court they were loving fathers and husbands.

Four men were sent to prison for between 5 1/2 and 8 1/2 years for the rape of a 20-year-old woman at Mt Maunganui in 1989.

Justice Ronald Young told the High Court at Wellington that the men had taken part in "deeply disgraceful acts" and three had planned what was a gang rape in the worst sense.

"She was ... treated by you as a piece of meat," he told the men during sentencing.

Only two of the men can be named.

They are Peter Mana McNamara, 46, and Warren Graham Hales, 40.

Justice Young continued the extensive suppression orders involving the other men and details of the case.

In jailing all four, he took into account that the attack was pre-meditated and that four of the five men involved - one has never been identified - watched as the others raped the woman.

He said mitigating factors included that the men had no other convictions, and that all had many references testifying to their good character before and since the rape.

Justice Young said he accepted that Hales had not helped to plan the attack. However, he knew it was wrong yet lacked the strength of character to intervene.

Justice Young said one of the men had intimidated the woman into not complaining, and two of the men believed they would get away with the crime.

"And you almost did. Your arrogance, in my view, knew no bounds."

The victim, who also cannot be named, read her victim impact statement to the court, her voice cracking twice as she described her distress at having suffered for 16 years.

She said she had never been able to return to Mt Maunganui, and although now married, had experienced difficulty in both work dealings and personal relationships with men.

She went from being confident and self-assured to a shell of her former self - ill, lonely and isolated, without work or money for years.

She complained to police about the rape last year.

A jury found the four men guilty last month, rejecting their claim that the woman participated in consensual group sex.

The partners or wives of all four read statements to the court.

Both the men who have name suppression cried as their wives described the impact of the case on their children and families.

The man jailed for the longest term was described by his wife as being a fine human being.

He mouthed "I love you" as she returned to the public gallery.

He placed a hand on the back of one of the other men who wept as his wife described how much his children loved and missed him.

The men were sentenced according to laws that existed in 1989, under which the maximum jail term for rape was 14 years.

The maximum term is now 20 years.

IN THE WORDS OF THE WOMEN

THE VICTIM

The woman gang-raped by five men when she was 20 said she was grieving for the normal life she had never been able to live.

She said the nightmare of her ordeal occupied her mind during her waking and sleeping hours.

"I felt I was used goods, sullied.

"I have lived without an identity."

PARTNER 1

Joanne Percy, partner of Peter McNamara for 14 years, said their son, 2 1/2, missed kicking a ball with his father.

She was thankful her son was too young to understand what was happening.

She said she would support the man whose commitment to others in the community had at times been to the detriment of his own family.

"Peter will always be the love of my life."

WIFE 1

Wife of one man, aged 47, with name suppression, jailed for 8 1/2 years on two counts of rape, three years for unlawful sexual connection and three years for abduction.

She spoke of their many years together and of their daughter.

"She is the light of [his] life and she adores him."

The woman spoke of her husband's soft and gentle manner, that he had given his all in his job, and had been honoured for his work.

"What I can state clearly is I have lived with and loved this man for much of my life.

"He is a fine human being.

"It has been a privilege for me to be [his] wife and partner."

PARTNER 2

Jennifer Butler, partner of Warren Hales, jailed for 5 1/2 years for rape, three years for abduction.

In their 13 years together she had realised how close he was to his family.

"Not once in all this time has he shown any violence to me or anyone else.

"He is a kind, compassionate man."

She asked Justice Young to impose as light a sentence as possible on someone who had led an exemplary life before and since the events of 1989.

 

WIFE 2

Wife of a second man, aged 53, with name suppression, jailed for eight years for rape, four years for unlawful sexual connection and three years for abduction.

The man's second wife spoke of their 10 years together and his close relationship with his children from their marriage and an earlier relationship. She said she loved him for his kindness, dedication, patience and support.

He helped at his son's rugby practice, and teased his daughter - who teased him back.

"They know they are loved by him and miss him terribly.

"I know [he] has always had the utmost respect for me as a woman and an individual."