Teece hid in closet after brutal attack
NATHAN Teece appeared to be an everyday bloke.
Loving family, good education, his own business and the son of a well-respected Gold Coast surfing personality. His only brushes with the law were driving and public nuisance offences.
But for the past 27 months he has harboured a deep secret.
A jury yesterday found the 31-year-old guilty of raping a woman in February 2016 while she slept in a bedroom during a party at Burleigh.
Teece has not been given a parole release or eligibility date.
The Southport District Court heard during a threeday trial that he only stopped the attack when the woman screamed for help.
Her husband found Teece hiding in a closet, not expecting to be caught.
“It’s hard to look at my body,” the woman told the court.
“I hate my arms for being able to fight for me.
“I hate my legs for not being able to kick you off ... I hate that in the end I just had to wait for you to decide when it was over.”
In the gallery, members of the jury and her family and friends silently cried as they listened to her speak. not
Teece’s three supporters remained quiet.
The woman spoke directly to Teece. Her gaze centred on him as she explained what he had done to her.
How she still, two years after the rape, was trying to come to terms with what happened.
While she spoke Teece gazed straight ahead, looking away from the woman.
He did not flinch. “Unlike the expectation of a victim, I am desperate to see your face,” she said.
“I want to confront you. I want to look at you and know that no matter what lies you tell, we both know what happened that night.”
As the woman stepped down from the witness dock, the public gallery broke into applause, some standing.
Family and friends and jury members stood to shake her hand.
Judge Katherine McGinness said Teece had forced the woman to relive the details of her rape.
“She will forever feel affected by your selfish and criminal actions,” she said.
Ms McGinness accepted that Teece suffered from an adjustment disorder.
Teece did not react when he was told he was sentenced to seven years behind bars.
When the court adjourned, he moved from the dock and headed towards the prison cells.
He barely spoke to his family.
Teece grew up surfing on the Gold Coast – his surfing results from competitive club rounds on weekends appearing in the sports pages.
The eldest of four siblings, he was introduced to surfing with the help of his father, well-respected Burleigh Boardriders stalwart, surf reporter and commentator Terry “Tappa” Teece.
Photos show Nathan even got to meet Joel Parkinson after the Gold Coast surf champion won his first Quiksilver Pro event at Snapper Rocks in 2002.
On social media he was cheered on at surfing events by a younger sister who didn’t shy away from telling him how much she loves him.
“Go and surf all day that’s something you would love to do and you are always good to talk to love you bro,” her 2013 birthday message read.
Teece attended Kingscliff TAFE and went on to start his own carpentry business.
The work allowed him to fly to the Philippines to surf the crystal-clear waters of Cloud Nine off Siargao Island.
“Yeah boys you’d froath! (sic),” Teece told mates on social media about getting barrelled.
“It’s just like riding a bicycle. Too (sic) me anyway! Dont need to prove to anyone. I konw (sic) my limits ...”