Napier father who raped and 'wanted to own' his daughter jailed for 14 years

Judge Russell Collins sentenced the father and said he hoped the daughter would recover. Photo / NZME

WARNING: This story contains reference to sexual assault

A man who "wanted to own" his teenage daughter, sexually and physically abusing her over several months, has been sent to jail for 14 years.

The man also received a further year in prison for a serious unrelated assault while he was on bail, bringing his total sentence to 15 years.

The man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his daughter, appeared before Judge Russell Collins in the Napier District Court on Friday.

In February, a jury found him guilty of 25 charges, including raping a female aged 12 to 16, attempted rape, unlawful sexual connection, indecent assault, assaulting a person with a blunt instrument, strangulation, assault on a female and attempted unlawful sexual connection.

The jury also found him guilty of ill-treating a dog belonging to the girl, who was aged 14 while much of the offending was taking place from 2019 to 2020.

Before the trial began, the man had pleaded guilty to two charges of assault on a person in a family relationship, after admitting an attack on her on Father's Day 2020 in which he hit her across the legs and face.

Judge Collins said the man had played little part in his daughter's life until she went to live with him at the age of 13.

She was excited to get to know her biological father and have a father-daughter relationship with him.

After a year, the father and daughter were the only two people in the house and by then the father had "become either besotted or infatuated with her", the judge said.

"You wanted to own her, and have her as your partner," he said. The man also gave his daughter drugs.

"You made her your sexual partner ... she never consented to that relationship, and she was never, as a child, in a position to physically resist the relationship you sought to impose upon her."

Judge Collins said that the man had lost his own father at a young age and was himself subjected to physical and sexual abuse as a child, but he asked: "How does that mitigate raping your own daughter?"

The judge also had "reservations" that the remorse he had expressed was not for the harm caused but "regret that you will never be part of her life".

The girl broke down into sobs while giving her victim impact statement on a video link.

She described being diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression, and having flashbacks and panic attacks.

The girl, who is now living with her mother, said she had been having difficulties with sleeping and nightmares. One of her nightmares was about being placed back in her father's care.

"I will never be the same person I was before living with [Father]. I miss the whole person I used to be," the girl said.

She had learned in science class that every cell in the body was replaced in seven years, so "I look forward to 2027", when she could be a new person.

The girl said she had difficulty with schoolwork, absences from class, and anxiety attacks being around males in a co-educational school.

"I'm too scared to let people into my life. I don't trust anyone ... If my own biological father can do that to me, anyone can."

After her father was sentenced, Judge Collins said to the girl directly: "Our wish is, as hard as it might be: do your very best at school and have that life that we hope you can have."

He said to the court: "I hope that bright, bubbly and highly intelligent young woman will recover and live the life that she deserves."

The convicted man on Friday also pleaded guilty to the unrelated charge of injuring with intent to injure.

A Crown summary of facts said that he punched a 60-year-old man four times and kicked him over a parking dispute outside some flats in November 2021. He then returned and punched his helpless victim a fifth time.

The victim suffered concussion, a 3cm cut to his forehead requiring stitches, a 2cm cut to his left cheek, a swollen and heavily bruised eye and abrasion above the hairline. A tooth was knocked out.

Sexual harm - Where to get help
If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact href='https://safetotalk.nz/' target='_blank'>Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:
• Call 0800 044 334
• Text 4334
• Email support@safetotalk.nz
• For more info or to web chat visit target='_blank'>safetotalk.nz
Alternatively contact your local police station - href='http://www.police.govt.nz/contact-us/stations' target='_blank'>click here for a list.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.