A South Otago man, jailed for raping and assaulting his pregnant partner who was breast-feeding another child, was granted final name suppression.
In her victim impact statement read in the Dunedin District Court last week, the woman said she did not want her partner's name to be published because of the effects it could have on her children. The two older children knew "something went on" but not the details.
She felt confused about what had happened because "sometimes I want us to be a family again".
The woman spoke of feeling "really shocked" after the assault and described the defendant's actions as those "of a monster". She found it hard to believe he had raped her and had told nobody about what happened.
At the time of the incident she had been a few weeks pregnant and had been concerned she might lose the baby.
The offending happened when the 38-year-old man arrived home affected by alcohol and wanted to have sex. She reluctantly agreed but then withdrew her consent and the defendant became rough, pulling her hair, pinning her down and continuing to have sex.
He punched her on the jaw and, when she retaliated, punched her again.
The defendant was convicted after a jury trial and Judge Michael Crosbie commended the woman for the "understated" way she had given her evidence.
She was not in court to "stick the knife in", he told the defendant during sentencing last week.
But it was not simply a case of consent being withdrawn. There had been additional and overt violence to enforce the act.
Rape was always violent, the judge said. It was made more so when there were separate acts of assault and a physical and power imbalance "as there was here".
Crown counsel Craig Power said there had been some vulnerability, given the woman's health at the time. And the man's position as the woman's partner meant the offending had involved a breach of trust.
For the defendant, Andrew Dawson said the man accepted responsibility for what he had done and accepted he would be going to prison, although the woman had not wanted that to happen.
"It appears alcohol took over your life at the expense of your relationship," Judge Crosbie said. "But your former partner still has positive things to say about your role as a parent".
He urged the man to register as soon as possible for dependency treatment to deal with his alcohol issue and to attend any psychological programme available to him.
On the rape charge, the man was sentenced to five years and four months' jail, with concurrent terms of nine months on the assault and six months for intentional injury.
And the judge said the case was one where "in the interests of the victim and the family" there should be final name suppression.
