Stress effect ends rape case
As a young man, Tristan Lee Tamati admitted raping a 91-yearold woman in Westport.
On Monday, he walked free when his latest alleged victim, a petite teenager he befriended after Facebook contact, collapsed for the second time when called to give evidence against him.
In the High Court at Wellington the most serious charges against Tamati, now 41, were dropped.
He was sentenced to 15 months’ jail after changing his plea to guilty for assaulting the young woman and giving her methamphetamine.
The sentence had in effect already been served during 18 months in custody awaiting trial, so he was immediately released.
At the start of his trial, Tamati had pleaded not guilty to three charges of supplying methamphetamine to the complainant, who was then 16, three of unlawful sexual connection, two charges of rape, and one each of kidnapping, male assaults female, threatening to kill and indecent assault.
They related to events in greater Wellington in January 2016.
His first trial in February ended on the second day when the young woman collapsed due to stress, Justice David Collins said.
She was determined to continue with the case, received counselling and treatment, and a new trial was set for July 3, he said.
A recorded account of her evidence was being played to a jury on Monday when she collapsed again, the judge said.
She had been screened so that
The Crown properly decided not to put the complainant's health and wellbeing at risk by trying to continue. Justice David Collins
she could not see Tamati or his lawyer.
The prosecutor, Kate Feltham, properly decided not to put the young woman’s health and wellbeing at risk by trying to continue the trial, the judge said.
Tamati had admitted in an interview with police that he assaulted the woman and gave her methamphetamine, so he pleaded guilty to those charges, defence lawyer Geoff Fulton said.
The Crown had alleged Tamati, a tattooist, had contact with her on Facebook and the pair met later. She had troubles at home and accompanied him to two tattooing jobs.
Fulton had told the jury that Tamati and the complainant were in a relationship and the sexual contact was consensual.
Early in the court process Fulton had warned in court of the risk of prejudice from information already online about Tamati’s past.
Tamati was 20 in 1997 when he pleaded guilty in Westport to attacks on two elderly women.
A 69-year-old was assaulted but chased Tamati off.
However, a 91-year-old was robbed, raped and sodomised in her own home in a midnight attack. She spent a week in hospital afterwards.
In sentencing Tamati to 15 years’ jail the judge had said the grossness of what Tamati did was beyond normal understanding. Even Tamati’s lawyer said there was no attempt to excuse the monstrousness of his actions. The court was told Tamati was just 4 years old when he first had cannabis and by 12 he was drug and alcohol addicted.
The older victim told police that she had not lost consciousness during the attack, but she wished she had.
In October 2016, Justice Minister Amy Adams announced a pilot of District Court sittings in Auckland and Whangarei to deal only with sexual violence cases.
It was hoped to speed their progress through the court system, with the aim of hastening the victims’ recovery.