Vailea was out drinking in Hamilton’s CBD on October 28 last year. At about 12.45am the following morning she was in The Book Club, a strip club, on the city’s main street.
The policeman was working as part of a team doing compliance checks in the CBD and Vailea approached him inside the club.
He stepped aside to allow her to walk past but as he did so, she extended her right hand and groped his genitals, “firmly” for about two seconds while looking directly at him.
Court documents state the officer was “taken aback” as he wasn’t expecting that to happen.
She was arrested and taken to the police station where she undertook a SCAB assessment - a tool used to determine how intoxicated a person is.
She was found to be intoxicated.
When questioned by police, she said she “was just going to Coyote’s [bar]”.
Two months later in the carpark of Countdown supermarket in Anglesea St, Valiea carried out a nasty attack on a woman.
Vailea and two associates followed the victim out of the self-checkout area and across the carpark to her car.
She then ran at the victim, punching her in the face and grabbing her hair.
While holding her hair in her left hand, she punched the victim six times in the head using her right hand, then kneed her in the face before landing an uppercut punch to the face.
Vailea then punched her another four times to the head as the victim tried to pull away but couldn’t as she was still holding her hair.
Her two associates then joined in and crowded around the victim to stop her from getting away.
Vailea pulled the victim’s head down and kicked her forcefully in the face twice before punching her another four times, and kneed her twice more in the face.
The victim dropped her items, which Vailea’s associates picked up, and eventually, Vailea lost her grip on the woman’s hair.
The trio continued to abuse the victim as they followed her across the carpark, they then turned away and showed each other the stolen items and began laughing.
The stolen items were not recovered.
The victim suffered severe bruising and a long-lasting concussion and required two weeks off work.
Judge Clark suppressed Vailea’s comments to police afterwards citing them as “inflammatory”.
Counsel Glen Prentice didn’t offer any submissions on the groping incident, but acknowledged the supermarket assault was “quite serious and one that will concern the court”.
“On the other side of the coin, she comes to court with no previous whatsoever,” and asked that a community-based sentence be imposed.
Intensive supervision would also help to deal with the causes of her behaviour, especially the unprovoked attack.
Community detention would “keep her home at night” but said her risk of reoffending was low as she had a 3-year-old child.
As for indecent assault on the officer, Judge Clark said it had left him “saddened and distraught” that something like this would happen and labelled her actions “completely unacceptable”.
For her attack, the judge said the victim had made mention of social media contact afterwards, and told her all of that behaviour was “not okay”.
She agreed with Prentice’s submissions, and sentenced Vailea to 4 months’ community detention with curfew hours of 8pm to 6am, along with 12 months’ intensive supervision.
The judge also ordered Vailea to attend an alcohol and drug assessment and banned her from possessing or using alcohol, or any drugs.
“I’m hoping this is the last time you appear before the court.”
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for nine years and has been a journalist for 20.
