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Allegations of Sexual Abuse |
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Four men convicted last
month of a pack rape at Mt Mauganui 16 years ago have been jailed for between
5-1/2 and 8-1/2 years. Peter Mana McNamara,
46, a Mt Maunganui businessman, Tauranga fireman Warren Graham Hales, 40, and
two men aged 47 and 53, whose names are suppressed, were found guilty of
unlawfully detaining and raping a 20-year-old woman. The two unnamed men
were also found guilty of unlawful sexual violation and one of them was
convicted of a second rape charge. Both men were acquitted of sexually
violating the woman with an object. The woman, now 37 --
who lives Australia with her husband and three children -- lodged a complaint
with police in April 2004 while on holiday in New Zealand. She told the court that
the men lured her into a hut on the pretext of a lunch date with one of the
unnamed men in January 1989. Once there she was bound, raped, forced to
perform oral sex and brutally violated. In the High Court at
Wellington today Justice Ronald Young said sentencing had to be determined on
maximum penalties in place at the time of the offence. "Maximum penalties
were for serious gang rapes, a category which this case falls into," he
said. Judge Young said
aggravating features were that the rape was premeditated and the victim was
restrained. The victim today read
an emotional victim impact statement to the court. She broke down as she
described how the pack rape had affected her life. "As a result of
what I experienced that day I went from being a self-assured, confident
woman, liked and respected by many people with a promising career... to being
a shell of my former self, fearful of retribution, anxious, unable to carry
on my work and unable to look after myself." The woman said she went
on to have a series of abusive relationships and became emotionally stunted. "I even wondered
on the day of my marriage whether it would be strong enough to survive the
emotional injuries I received 16 years ago." The men's partners read
statements to the court in support of their husbands "and
soulmates". McNamara was sentenced
to seven years for rape and three years for unlawful detention, to be served
concurrently. Hales was sentenced to
5-1/2 years for rape and three years for unlawful detention, also to be
served concurrently. The unnamed 53-year-old
was sentenced to eight years for rape, four years for unlawful sexual
connection and three years for unlawful detention. The 47-year-old was
sentenced to 8-1/2 years for two counts of rape, three years for unlawful
sexual connection and three years for unlawful detention. Those sentences are
also to be served concurrently. During their trial the
men maintained the woman had orchestrated consensual group sex and denied
restraining her. |
