A man who was convicted for 12 separate offences including indecent assault has been sentenced to five months imprisonment.

Teau Monana Tangi Taraiti was
convicted of indecently assaulting a female in Aitutaki, as well as unlawfully
being found, contempt of court, unlawfully taking motorcycles, careless
driving, and theft in Rarotonga.

Taraiti
appeared before Chief Justice Patrick Keane at the High Court in Avarua on
Thursday last week where the court heard that on January 25, 2023, at 9pm he
entered a family home where the victim and her family resided.

In
sentencing Taraiti, CJ Keane, who appeared through an audio-visual link from
New Zealand, said the victim was in the bedroom, sleeping, and her husband was
watching television while their daughter was in her own bedroom.

He said the victim was wearing a
pareu with her back towards the bedroom door. She woke up when she felt
Taraiti, who had pushed her down. She pushed him and screamed.

CJ Keane
said that two days later Taraiti admitted to the crime and was remanded in
Aitutaki and taken to the Arorangi Prison in Rarotonga until April 20 where he
was granted bail under curfew conditions.

He said
the victim impact report described the devastating effect of assault on the
victim in many aspects of her life.

“Those
are offences women suffer when things like this happen,” CJ Keane said, adding
that it can be long lasting.

For the
Rarotonga offences, the court heard that on June 19, 2023 at 10.30pm Taraiti
breached curfew and unlawfully took a motorcycle which was recovered on June 21
while he remained at large.

On June 22, he stole another
motorcycle and crashed into a motorist at her driveway in Tupapa. He was then
unlawfully found with a third motorcycle. After being arrested and taken to the
police station, he absconded and stole yet another motorcycle.

On June
26, he was seen leaving a Matavera home and on June 27, he unlawfully entered
another property and was arrested.

He had
been in custody since the arrest.

Crown Law
prosecutor Lucinda Rishworth in her submission said the Aitutaki victim felt
violated, lost trust in others, had anxiety about trust and about leaving her
own home.

In
highlighting the aggravating factors, she said the defendant physically
restrained the victim while he indecently assaulted her.

Defense
lawyer Norman George said the now 20-year-old victim is an individual born into
misfortune and bad luck as his father died when he was young and his mother
remarried. He was raised by his maternal grandparents.

However,
his grandfather passed away in 2019 and grandmother in 2023.

George
said: “His life is surrounded by sadness and sorrow… has natural afflictions
contributed to social fallouts.”

He said that contrary to the
Probation Services report, Taraiti did have a psychological assessment done.
This assessment showed that he has an intellectual disability and lacks the
ability to care for himself independently as expected for a man his age. He
requires daily and regular supervision, including help with self-care and
hygiene.

George
said an imprisonment term was unjustified.

“He has a
tag along personality… a blind follower. He needs guidance, any form of
supervision,” George said.

He said
being locked up won’t help the defendant, “Prison won’t help him at all.”

George requested a probation term
no longer than two years. He suggested Taraiti’s uncle, who is willing to take
him in, be included in any probation services plan. 

In suggesting probation and
rehabilitation, George argued that Taraiti had already served sufficient time
in prison.

The
defendant’s intellectual disability and the time already spent in prison was
taken into account and CJ Keane sentenced him to the five month jail term and
ordered 12 months’ probation supervision upon release as a way to assist him to
integrate into the community.