A man whose intention to have sex with an intoxicated woman was thwarted by one of the woman's children yelling at him has been sentenced to three years and four months' jail.
Alipate Taufoou (48) had been with three other adults drinking with the woman at her home on July 10 last year. They all left to go home about 11pm but Taufoou returned to the house soon afterwards and found the woman in an intoxicated sleep on the couch.
She woke to the sound of her child yelling and found the defendant with his trousers down. Her own pants and underwear had been removed.
"You were clearly intending to have sex,'' Judge Michael Crosbie said when sentencing Taufoou in the Dunedin District Court yesterday.
While accepting there had been no premeditation, the judge said it had been predatory behaviour by a man who knew the woman was intoxicated.
Taufoou was originally charged with assault with intent to commit sexual violation but pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of attempted sexual violation before his case went to trial earlier this month.
Because the offence came into the category of violent offending, he was given a warning under the "three strikes'' legislation.
Crown counsel Craig Power acknowledged the pre-sentence report was "fundamentally, extremely positive'', showing the defendant was clearly taking responsibility for what happened.
But the offending had obviously had a significant effect on the victim and her family, especially the child who was present. It had affected the victim's feelings of safety and had ruined a friendship.
For Taufoou, John Westgate said it was accepted the offending was serious. But the defendant had pleaded guilty and continued to accept responsibility, which was not always the case. He had expressed extreme remorse and wanted to apologise. He was clearly ashamed of his behaviour.
Judge Crosbie said he accepted there was no evidence of pre-planning, that the offending had been opportunistic. The defendant was clearly intending to have sex with an entirely comatose woman and the reason the matter did not go any further was a child yelling.
On the charge of attempted sexual violation, Taufoou was sentenced to three years and four months' jail. The judge recommended he have one-on-one psychological counselling, because the length of sentence might not allow time for a treatment programme for sexual offenders.
