Warning: This story contains details of sexual offending and may be upsetting.

A daughter with an intellectual disability has told her father that the image of him sexually assaulting her is “burnt” into her memory.

“It has been a few years since you violated me, but I still remember that night – images burnt into my memory – it has caused me immense trauma,” she said in her victim impact statement.

“After the incident, I was afraid to leave my house. It took months to leave my house.”

The woman was in tears as she told her father she had a lot of hate and resentment for him for taking her innocence.

“I can’t work or form stable relationships. When a male approaches me, I go into flight or fight.”

She said the person who was supposed to protect her from the evil of the world turned out to be evil themselves.

The stress had made her mentally unwell, leading to suicidal thoughts and psychiatric care, she said in the Christchurch District Court this week.

The man was granted permanent name suppression when he appeared for sentencing on charges of exploitative sexual connection with a person with a significant impairment and an exploitative indecent act on a person with a significant impairment.

Judge Michael Crosbie said the defendant was the biological father of the victim.

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She was 19 and in residential care when she organised an overnight stay at her father’s in May 2022.

The victim invited some friends over who stayed until the early hours of the morning.

Her father’s partner had gone to bed and one of the victim’s friends went into a bedroom with her father to smoke synthetic cannabis.

Around 2am, the friends left and the victim and her father were in the lounge where she began to get changed into her pyjamas.

He offered to adjust her bra, which he noticed had loosened and she agreed.

She sat next to him on a chair and, while helping adjust the bra, he exposed her breasts.

Her head started spinning and she struggled to cope with what was going on as he asked her whether what he was doing was okay.

She said it was.

The man was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court. Photo / RNZ, Nate McKinnon

He then sexually violated her before she said she was in pain and moved away to a couch.

The man removed her pants and continued to touch her, again asking her if it was okay. Again, she said it was. He then violated her again.

When he pulled his pants down and exposed himself, she screamed, put her clothes back on and ran to seek help from his partner and neighbours.

The man left the house and the police were called. The victim was taken to a clinic where testing showed his DNA on her body.

He told police the victim had started to undress when he helped her adjust her bra straps.

He claimed she sat on the couch and lifted her legs to expose her genitalia.

The man told police he had told the victim that she was not allowed to enter into a relationship with one of her friends, and, in response, she ran away and falsely accused him of sexual assault.

However, he later pleaded guilty to the charges.

In sentencing him, Judge Crosbie said there could not be a greater breach of trust than between a father and daughter.

The judge said that in having an acute understanding of his daughter’s needs and vulnerability, the man had preyed upon her.

“This was a gross abuse of trust.”

During meetings with health professionals, the defendant had tried to dominate the narrative and was not prepared to look into the background of the offending, the court heard.

Judge Crosbie thanked the victim for being in court.

“You were very brave to come forward very quickly. Hopefully, your coming forward will encourage other victims to do the same.”

The man was sentenced to three years and two months’ imprisonment.

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.

Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the New Zealand Herald, based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in New Zealand and overseas for the last 16 years. Most recently he was editor of the Hauraki-Coromandel Post, based in Whangamatā. He was previously deputy editor of the Cook Islands News.