The trial was held in Invercargill District Court yesterday.
An Invercargill man raped a young girl while she was still wearing her school uniform and told her she was not leaving until he got what he wanted, a court has heard.
Troy Gary Patterson, 49, appeared in the Invercargill District Court yesterday after a judge found him guilty on one charge of rape.
Judge Duncan Harvey sentenced him to nine years’ imprisonment.
Between October 1, 2007 and March 1, 2008, the 16-year-old victim was picked up by a friend to “hang out” in Otautau.
When they arrived there were others at the address, including the defendant.
The victim had not expected anyone else to be there.
She was uncomfortable and asked her friend to take her home, the court heard.
The friend refused and Patterson offered to drive the victim back to Riverton.
Instead, he drove to a quiet area and parked where flax bushes concealed the car.
The court heard he pulled the seat lever to lay the victim down and had his arm across her chest.
He told her “she wasn’t leaving until he got what he wanted”.
The victim protested, screaming and crying while Patterson repeatedly told her to “shut up”.
He raped the girl in the car and then dropped her at the end of her street.
Judge Harvey said “once that car began moving, she was effectively powerless”.
“That was a plan that you probably formulated while driving.”
He said the “dreadful harm” that had been caused was detailed in the victim impact statement.
It read: “Since then I have to be the driver. I’m a terrible passenger ... because I’m not in control”.
She said being in a car alone when someone else was driving made her “physically shake”.
The court heard Patterson had previously completed a stopping sexual violence programme.
How a resilient Kiwi village hopes to bounce back from a big drop in visitors.