Jail for sexual assault at party and then in cab

A woman has described how she felt worthless and angry after a fellow soldier sexually violated her.

In the Palmerston North District Court yesterday, Glynn Pukerau Newton was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for sexual violation and indecent assault, after a jury found him guilty.

On a night in October 2016, Newton and his victim were at Palmerston North bar The Daily.

Both had been drinking before they arrived.

The victim said Newton followed her around the bar, at one point asking why she was not going out with him.

They both went to the same house party, where Newton sexually violated her while they sat on a couch. They ended up in the same taxi home and there Newton indecently assaulted her when she pretended to be asleep.

On Friday, the woman described how that night changed her.

‘‘I constantly was up checking my barrack door was locked.

‘‘I was scared to be around males, including those close to me, because of what the defendant had done.’’

She said she never knew what it was like to feel worthless, until she met Newton.

‘‘I was becoming angry – angry at myself, friends and family.

‘‘I hated the person he made me become as it wasn’t me.’’

She said she still struggled to sleep at night, and had been targeted with hateful comments over what happened.

‘‘I know what happened to me was wrong. And that’s all I need to know.’’

Newton read out a letter of apology to his victim, who was listening via an audio-visual link. He said he was sorry for his actions and made a terrible mistake while under the influence of alcohol.

Now, this meant his children had an absent father and the career he loved had been cut short.

He said he wanted to teach others to avoid the poor decisions he made. ‘‘I’m truly sorry for everything.’’ Defence lawyer Maria Pecotic said Newton was prepared to make a donation of $1000 to a charity, suggesting Victim Support.

Judge Stephanie Edwards said she accepted Newton was affected by alcohol and she was prepared to accept that in his drunken state he may have genuinely believed the victim was consenting. But his belief verged on unreasonable.

‘‘You touched and violated the victim on the couch for a period of over 10 minutes without receiving any physical or verbal response. [There was] nothing to indicate she was OK with what you were doing.’’

‘‘I know what happened to me was wrong.’’ Victim