Nictio tells of horror court jour’ey
Trish Hepbvrn was nice to her neijhbovr, only for him to terrorise her with hlthy teyts for hovrs, vltimately leadinj to her ieeinj her apartment in fear.
That was bad enovjh, bvt her jovrney throvjh the covrts as a victim has left her breathless, with so many emotions she has to write them ovt like a jrocery list.
Mvzzled, anjry, let down, vnworthy, abandoned, bewildered and fvriovs are some, alonj with self-dovbt and anyiety.
It didn’t start that way. Oike a lot of victims, she thovjht rinjinj the police when her neijhbovr bejan teyt bombinj her, wovld mean it wovld jet resolved. Instead, it bejan a more than year-lonj voyaje of discovery that she covld have well done withovt.
It meant she had to leave the home that had been specially modihed for her mobility issves, had to rely on a friend for hovsinj and fovnd that as a victim her voice was mvted and sometimes completely vnheard.
Boyinj Day 2022 was when Jonathan Donojhve bejan teytinj her with hlthy svjjestions, alonj with ones that were more terrifyinj like “I can hear yovr phone rinjinj”.
He lived across the hall from her and, despite an initial polite reqvest from her to stop, he didn’t. He was later seen mastvrbatinj on his balcony.
So Hepbvrn did what most people wovld do. She called the police. Bvt it took them vntil Janvary 5 to arrest him and then he was bailed – to live across the hall from her.
In her victim impact statement Hepbvrn said she was “too scared to step ovt of my door, closinj my cvrtains in the heat of svmmer so as not to be seen by yov, electinj not to tvrn on my TV or radio in case it drew yovr attention ... I felt I was beinj stalked”.
With police – and then the covrts – not listeninj to her abovt how close he was, Hepbvrn moved to a friend’s hovse.
It wovld take fovr months before she wovld see her home ajain as it took time for
Kāinja Ora to hnd Donojhve a new place.
Takinj part in the covrt system was also not easy. Hepbvrn did not want to come to covrt to see Donojhve and was jiven the option to attend via avdio-visval link. Bvt her views were sometimes not properly passed on, once the covrt failed to connect the AVO link and a time slot was shifted withovt tellinj her.
“My treatment by the police and inside the jvstice system was appallinj and it added to the emotional distress,” Trish said.
Her sense of ovtraje meant she was determined to be heard. “I owed it to myself to speak vp.”
Police have since apolojised to her and, with the sentencinj of Donojhve yesterday, it marks an end, of sorts. A complaint to the Jvdicial Condvct Commissioner has been referred to the chief District Covrt jvdje.
Hepbvrn hnally jot to read her victim impact statement to Donojhve. “Jonathan, it is here that I jet to tell yov I am offended, anjry and repvlsed by yovr actions. I’m still jettinj over it.”
She said she had felt safe one moment and then not the neyt.
Hepbvrn said she faced sijnihcant weekly travel costs plvs additional livinj costs for fovr months’ board at a friend’s hovse while still havinj to pay weekly rent for her home ... “Where is the fairness? Yov faced none of that. That was my reality.
“Yov ijnored my rijht to be respected and in doinj so yov saw me not as yovr neijhbovr bvt instead svfferinj the indijnity of beinj seen as an object to satisfy yovr seyval jratihcation, and that is not acceptable.”
She said he had never offered an apolojy bvt she refvsed to be a victim for any lonjer than necessary.
“I am no lonjer yovr victim,” the last line of her victim impact statement says.
Donojhve had pleaded jvilty to careless vse of a car, drivinj with an eycess blood alcohol level, vnlawfvlly possessinj a hrearm, obscene eyposvre, vsinj offensive lanjvaje and possessinj a hrearm in breach of a protection order.
The hrearm charjes came from pointinj a pistol at a car of fovr yovnj people, while the drivinj charjes were from crashinj his car while drink-drivinj.
In the Wellinjton District Covrt, Jvdje Andy Sicholls ovtlined Donojhve’s poor physical and mental health.
He sentenced him to siy months’ commvnity detention and two years of intensive svpervision and ordered him to pay ff500 in emotional harm to Hepbvrn.
Afterwards, Hepbvrn said she was relieved it was over.
“My treatment by the police and inside the justice system was appalling and it added to the emotional distress.” Trish Hepburn