Newstalk ZB
Warning: This story deals with sexual assault and may be upsetting. A young German backpacker who was raped by three strangers she met at a Karangahape Rd bar on New Year’s morning last year says her life has has been “on the edge of an abyss” ever since then. “What they did to me – not only to my body, but also through the severity of the legal process they forced me into – almost killed me," the woman wrote in a victim impact statement that was read aloud by a supporter today as the defendants appeared in the High Court at Auckland for sentencing. The victim watched the proceedings from overseas via an audio-video feed. “To this day, I struggle to find meaning in life again,” her statement continued. “I am not a particularly optimistic person, and so much has already gone wrong that I see nothing that could ever make up for what they did to me that night.” Justice Mathew Downs later ordered substantial prison sentences for the trio – referred to in court documents as B, O and S – and declined their applications for permanent name suppression. However, they still cannot be identified because they plan to appeal the suppression decision. “I am far from persuaded of any remorse on your part,” the judge told O. “Your trial testimony was a series of arrogant lies and embellishments.” All of the defendants, he noted, seem to have a concerning lack of insight into the harm they have caused. ‘Help’ During a weeks-long trial earlier this year, jurors were repeatedly shown CCTV footage from outside popular K Rd nightclub Family Bar and from a secluded industrial carpark in Avondale, where all three defendants were seen taking turns moving into a back seat with the victim. The 19-year-old was likely unconscious when the trio violated her but, at a minimum, she was so obviously drunk that she could not have consented, prosecutors said. The complainant has only patchy memories of the night but appeared to be in agony as she described to a police interviewer how she woke up to find a man she didn’t know in the process of intercourse, while others in the vehicle spoke to each other in a language she didn’t recognise. All three men, aged 19 and 20 at the time of the offences, denied the rape charges, but for different reasons. B, whose DNA was found on the inside crotch of the complainant’s clothes, said he engaged in consensual sexual activity with the woman but did not have penetrative sex. O, whose DNA was found during a gynaecological exam of the victim, admitted to having sex with her but claimed it was she who propositioned him. Family Bar on Karangahape Rd. Photo / Jason Dorday S admitted he was also in the van but said he was asleep in the back row throughout the incident. DNA testing for him, which he seemed to encourage during an interview with police, was inconclusive. But a witness told police that S had bragged later that morning about all three defendants having sex with a woman who was “too drunk”. Jurors rejected their claims. B and O were both found guilty of three counts of rape – one count referring to their own participation and two others of aiding or encouraging the others in the vehicle to do the same. S was found guilty of a single charge of raping the woman but acquitted of allegations that he encouraged his mates. Shortly before getting into a van with the men, the victim had sent a text to her friends: “gilde”. It was a typo, she said, of the German word for “help”. The defence had noted that “gilde” could be interpreted as “team” or “group”, but the victim said “gilde” was an archaic word in the German language that wasn’t in her vocabulary. The jury and the judge were also unconvinced. Justice Downs said today that he believed the meaning was clearly “help”, with a typo being attributed to “intoxication, haste or fear”. The victim sent another message to friends seeking help...
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