WARNING: This article discusses rape and self-harm and may be distressing.

“From where I sit my rapist has more rights than I do.”

Those were the words of a woman who endured five years of “torture and excuses” as she waited for justice after being woken in the night and raped.

Today, justice finally came.

Christopher Coulter, 36, appeared in the Christchurch District Court where he was jailed for three years for raping the woman, and for indecently assaulting another.

Both previously told Coulter they did not want to have sex with him before he approached them as they slept.

The rape victim’s impact statement was read to the court by a support person and said no words could ever describe the pain and trauma Coulter caused her.

She felt her human rights were violated as she sought justice: “I spent five years waiting, how is that fair?”

“From where I sit, my rapist has more rights than I do.”

It was not said in court why it had taken five years since the offending to reach an outcome.

But as she waited, the woman suffered financially and became homeless for some time, having to sleep in her car.

She suffered from nightmares and anxiety and couldn’t leave the house alone, turning to self-harm as a way to forget what she endured.

“I don’t feel like a victim and I’m not, I’m a survivor who spoke the truth.

“I ask that the judge hears me and gives you the time you took from me [that] I will never get back.”

The second victim described leaving Christchurch as she felt unsafe living in the same area as Coulter.

She said it’s been very hard for her to move forward with her life as she has nightmares and still remembers what he did to her.

The offending

In September 2018, Coulter asked the first victim if she wanted to have sex with him. She said she did not.

That night, she woke to Coulter indecently touching her. She was frozen from fear and pretended to be asleep.

Coulter then raped her.

Between December 2018 and January 2019, Coulter had a conversation with a second victim about sex. She made it clear she did not want to have sex with him.

The woman later fell asleep fully clothed. Coulter pulled her pants and underwear off before indecently assaulting her.

The next day the woman confronted Coulter about what he did through messages. He admitted having “played with her while she was asleep”.

‘Doomed from birth’

At his sentencing, Crown prosecutor Courtney Martyn said even with discounts available to Coulter, a sentence of imprisonment was the only appropriate outcome, highlighting the vulnerability of the victims who were asleep when the offending began.

Coulter’s lawyer Philip Hall KC said the offending was a “one-off” and “out of character” for his client.

He submitted Coulter was neglected as a child and his “life trajectory was almost doomed from birth”.

Coulter suffered post-traumatic stress disorder, intellectual deficiency and clinical anxiety.

Hall asked the judge to impose a sentence of home detention with supervision, stating “home detention is not an easy sentence”.

Judge Paul Kellar said Coulter had caused serious harm, echoing the Crown’s point on the vulnerability of the women.

The judge said both women had made it clear they didn’t want to have sex with Coulter and one woman had taken medication that made her sleepy.

Coulter’s upbringing, particularly the failures of his caregivers, which had led to him making “poor decisions in sexual engagements”, were acknowledged by the judge.

The court heard that Coulter was assessed as a low risk of sexual reoffending and could live a pro-social life if he got the treatment he needed.

The judge gave him discounts for his background, guilty pleas, remorse and willingness to engage in restorative justice, the fact that he had no prior convictions and his prospects for rehabilitation.

SUICIDE AND DEPRESSION

Where to get help:
• Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7)
• Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO (available 24/7)
• Youth services: (06) 3555 906
• Youthline: 0800 376 633
• What's Up: 0800 942 8787 (11am to11pm)
• Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 (available 24/7)
• Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155
• Helpline: 1737
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

SEXUAL HARM

Where to get help:
If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:
• Call 0800 044 334
• Text 4334
• Email [email protected]
• For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz
Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.

Emily Moorhouse is a Christchurch-based Open Justice journalist at NZME. She joined NZME in 2022. Before that, she was at the Christchurch Star.