Double rapist in jail again
The woman attacked by double rapist Lewis Scott could be forgiven for deciding that facing her abuser in court for a second time after the Court of Appeal overturned the first convictions was too hard.
But her strength and resolve led her to return to court before a jury, telling her story and waiting on tenterhooks for a verdict – which again came through as guilty. Yesterday, he was once again sentenced for the crime – this time for six years.
Now she says it was worth it and she feels safer.
Scott has been jailed for rape and unlawful sexual connection.
The original attack was in 2007.
The woman had thought it was a business meeting, but arrived at his home to find champagne being poured. The talk turned to sex over dinner and she became increasingly uncomfortable. Then he attacked.
It happened in a split second, she said. During the abuse she had a moment of bravery, tricked him into loosening his hold and was able to make a run for it.
A friend offered to take her to the police but, feeling ashamed, she did not want to.
Then, in 2014, she read a Stuff story about a trial with another victim Scott had raped in his shop, Kwanzaa, on Manners St in Wellington. The next day she went to the police.
It took until 2017, when a jury found him guilty of two charges of sexual violation and one of indecent assault. He was jailed for four years.
After the Court of Appeal overturned those convictions, she summoned her courage to go back to court and give evidence for the second time.
She said she had to do it so she did not live in fear of him. And the jury convicted again.
But Scott, who is now 72, had served most of his sentence already and was eligible for parole.
The woman can’t be named for legal reasons but shared her victim impact statement with Stuff.
She said the day Scott won his appeal, her world flipped over. The injustice felt absolute and she began to suffer anxiety attacks and flashbacks.
Knowing he was out on bail led to hypervigilance any time she was out of her home and depression. Then came therapy and a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder. She began to wonder: ‘‘Is this now my forever?’’
With a strength of will most people would find astonishing, she decided to go ahead with the retrial and face being cross-examined in front of a jury again.
‘‘I hope this sentence can make the trauma of a retrial worthwhile. I hope this sentence will instil in other women and men a sense that no matter how difficult it is to stand up in court, to have your integrity questioned to the point you wonder who’s actually on trial, that it’s worth it. Because it is worth it. I feel safe again.’’
At the sentencing yesterday, Wellington District Court Judge Jan Kelly said she felt the sentence originally imposed was too light but she was still constrained by needing to impose the least restrictive sentence.
She said Scott maintained his innocence, not only on the charge he was being sentenced on, but also on the first rape conviction.
She said there was premeditation by getting the victim to his home and by using alcohol. The judge declined to impose a minimum period of imprisonment.
Crown prosecutor Dale La Hood said it was a moderately violent rape with considerable force used. He asked for a higher sentence than was imposed on the same set of facts last time, with a starting point of between eight and nine years.
Defence lawyer Letizea Ord said it was rape at the lower end of the scale with no aggravating features. Scott had a medical condition that was stable but ought to be taken into account as he was particularly vulnerable in the prison environment.
Ord said, because of the time between the first sentencing and the second trial, Scott had already served two years in jail.