Adventurer ignored deal with sex worker over ‘red’ safe word
Marcelo Vanzuita, who has competed in extreme sports events, will pay $5000 emotional harm reparation to a former sex worker whom he assaulted.
An athlete who pushed himself to the limits on extreme runs went too far with a sex worker, ignoring the safe words they had set.
They agreed that ‘‘red’’ meant ‘‘stop straight away’’ and ‘‘yellow’’ meant ‘‘I need a break’’, after he had lightly squeezed her throat for the first time.
The code that Marcelo Luis Vanzuita, 47, and the woman agreed had worked until August 17, 2017. In text messages leading up to their meeting that day, she had talked about being punished, and discipline in a sexual context was part of her work previously.
But Vanzuita grabbed her by the throat with both hands, held her against a wardrobe and she felt dizzy and short of breath, Judge Peter Hobbs said in Wellington District Court yesterday.
She said ‘‘red’’, and told him to stop, but Vanzuita continued, holding a hand around her throat and applying pressure periodically while he had sex with her.
The judge said the woman agreed to rough activity or bondage provided her wishes about the level of force used were respected, but that day Vanzuita did not respect those boundaries and used excessive force.
It was not alleged though that the sex was non-consensual.
Vanzuita, an IT engineer, pleaded guilty to indecent assault and assault with intent to injure. The judge said the circumstances were ‘‘somewhat unique’’.
Vanzuita had met the woman at a brothel and arranged to see her privately when he would pay to have unprotected sex with her.
The woman, 28, read a victim impact statement in court saying how she had not wanted to talk about what she did when she was a sex worker.
The event with Vanzuita had left her anxious and fearful. She had feared for her life when she was being strangled, she said. She had nightmares about slept badly.
Vanzuita had no previous convictions. He was sentenced to six months’ community detention with a daily curfew to be home between 8pm and 6am.
He was sentenced to 12 months’ supervision and has to take treatment and counselling as directed. He also has to do 150 hours’ community work and pay the victim $5000 emotional harm reparation.
The judge said at an earlier hearing he was told Vanzuita was remorseful and concerned for the victim but a probation officer’s report said he had a sense of ‘‘entitlement’’.
Vanzuita’s lawyer, Mike Antunovic, said the probation officer seemed to have taken some comments out of context, but the judge said he did not accept that, and Vanzuita needed to modify his attitudes.
Vanzuita, from Lower Hutt, has taken part in extreme running events including the 250km Gobi Desert race, and the 155km Lake Taupo run. In 2017, he pulled out of a 700km run through Canada’s Yukon Territory after wolves stalked him for two days. it, and