Prisoner in NZ who raped and assaulted cellmate will be deported to Fiji
Aprisoner in New Zealand who raped and forced his young cellmate to perform sexual acts on him almost every night for three months will be deported back to Fiji after his sentence.
At the High Court in Wellington, 31-year-old Benjamin Nilesh Goundar was given an indefinite sentence where he will have to serve 10 years and be assessed as safe before he can be released. Goundar was found guilty in November on nine charges including common assault, sexual violation and threatening to kill.
He was already serving time in Rimutaka Prison for violent sexual offending against a teenage girl when he found his next victim.
The man, who has name suppression, was 18-years-old at the time and the youngest person in the prison.
Goundar befriended him and the man moved into his cell in October 2017 on the promise of movies, food and a better time.
They shared the cell until January 2018.
Justice Karen Clark said from the first night he asked for sexual favours and hit the victim when he refused - the abuse continued until he did what Goundar asked. Justice Clark also said Goundar pulled a shank and threatened to stab the victim if he didn’t comply. The victim’s impact statement was read aloud to the court. In it the victim said he still saw Goundar’s face everywhere he looked and felt that he would never get away from him.
Reports showed Goundar had a high risk of reoffending and took no responsibility for his behaviour, Justice Clark said.
“You say you are disappointed in your actions, but you have shown no remorse for the victims of your offending,” Justice Clark said. “You appeared to the report writer to only be disappointed in the way your actions have impacted on your life including that you will be deported to Fiji on release from prison.”
The judge said he even made inappropriate sexual remarks and displayed flirtatious behaviour to the female pyschologist assessing him. The reports described him as entitled and domineering with sadistic, degrading and cruel components. He also showed little attempt at rehabilitative programmes.
Justice Clark said as his previous 16 years in prison did not curb his violent offending, he was given a preventive detention sentence. Goundar must serve at least 10 years but will be kept in prison if he cannot prove he is safe for release.