Sarah Preece: ‘I won’t be bitter’
In the days after Sarah Preece was raped and assaulted by a stranger in her own home, she wasn’t sure if she would survive.
The Nelson woman realised she had to make a conscious decision to live, or she would simply ‘‘melt away into a corner’’.
During the September 2017 attack, West Coast man Jacob Jensen, who had been diagnosed as being in a psychotic state hours earlier, entered her home and smashed her head into the kitchen table, striking her with a metal coffee pot before raping her.
Since then, Preece has been determined to understand what occurred before Jensen arrived at her door.
Her search for answers became a campaign for the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board to acknowledge its initial review of the incident was wrong. While Preece has accused the DHB of a cover up, the DHB has disputed its review was a whitewash, and said its systems had changed.
After almost two years this week the DHB decided to rereview the care provided to Jensen.
‘‘In so many ways I don’t cope and I am not coping, but on the other hand I have received the most integral help from so many kind people in so many ways,’’ Preece told Stuff.
Preece is articulate but there are reminders of the traumatic brain injury she sustained in the attack. She repeatedly rubs her thumb across her fingers, and a verbal tic sees her occasionally interrupting her sentences with, ‘‘please help me’’.
Writing has become a tonic, a defence and a weapon, allowing her to be articulate when she felt as if she were falling apart.
After the attack she launched her own investigation, obtaining documents under the Official Information Act, retrieving files from the courts, and requesting access to medical records from Jensen himself. Preece wrote to health board staff, politicians, lawyers and doctors.
Her campaign hasn’t been easy but Preece said it was about ensuring health professionals were wellresourced to provide adequate care, and creating a work environment where issues could be raised and addressed. It was about ensuring other people didn’t suffer.
The results built a picture of what had happened in the hours before the attack.
Jensen arrived at the Nelson Hospital emergency department seeking help shortly before 4pm, but left after waiting for several hours while the mental health crisis team were on another job. The health board’s initial review said Jensen did not pose a risk to the community when he arrived, and that staff did everything they could.
It said no changes were necessary.
Preece said she was thankful for the ‘‘groundswell of support’’, from fellow assault victim Wendy Hamer, to strangers who’ve stopped in the street when she was in the midst of a post traumatic stress injury episode.
Her partner Roger Sowman, who Preece described as the ‘‘nicest, kindest man in the whole world’’, had been a huge source of support.
The DHB agreeing to review Jensen’s care was not the end of the road, but it was one victory in an ongoing battle.
‘‘This is my microcosmic way of addressing what is wrong in the world,’’ Preece said. ‘‘I’m so lucky to be alive, I don’t want a life eaten up with bitterness.’’
‘‘I have received the most integral help from so many kind people in so many ways.’’ Sarah Preece