Jail term for abusing girlfriend

AUCKLAND: A man who physically and sexually abused his exgirlfriend has been jailed for seven and ahalf years.

The man, who has interim name suppression, subjected the woman to escalating abuse during a brief relationship described in court as volatile and toxic.

He was found guilty of two charges of sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, three charges of assaulting a female, two of assault with a weapon and one of threatening to kill, after a twoweek trial last month at the High Court in Auckland.

At sentencing yesterday, the woman told the court the physical pain she endured paled in comparison to the emotional damage the man caused her.

She said it was only thanks to years of personal and professional support that she was finally able to speak about the abuse.

Justice Brewer said it was a credit to the woman that she was now in a position to move on with her life with a positive outlook.

He said there were no mitigating features in the case and jailed the man for seven and ahalf years.

At trial, the woman gave harrowing evidence of being slapped, pushed and threatened with knives during her relationship with the man.

She said the man slapped her across the face the first time he assaulted her and went on to push and shove her during arguments.

The court heard he would hold knives to her throat, sometimes his own, and would also lock the woman outside on their balcony, away from her phone, at night.

The woman recalled one night she said the man tried to kill her; chasing her with a knife before putting her in a choke hold and demanding oral sex.

She said he threatened to kill her and her family if she did not comply and went on to force her to perform other sexual acts against her will.

The court heard the woman lost more than $10,000 in savings during their brief sixmonth relationship as she paid for their joint rent and expenses. — RNZ