Rapist of two teens jailed for 10 years

File Photo / NZ Herald

A man who raped two teenage schoolgirls, one after the other within a few minutes, at a Palmerston North lodging house in 2008 was today jailed for 10 years.

Patrick Hare Rehu, who was 29 at the time, denied the charges but was convicted by a Palmerston North jury in August of raping both girls, then aged 14, and supplying cannabis to one of them.

He was the second of two men living at the lodgings to be sentenced for raping and sexually violating the girls on June 19, 2008.

Kerry Alexander Wilson was last year jailed for eight years after admitted raping one of the girls and sexually violating the other, straight after Rehu had raped them. Wilson was 44 at the time.

In the Wellington District Court today, Judge Chris Tuohy described how the two victims and a third schoolgirl met Rehu after bunking off school on June 19, 2008. After his girlfriend returned, Rehu took them to Wilson's room, where Wilson supplied them with a bottle of vodka.

Later that night, Rehu was on his way out to get takeaways, but after hearing noises went into Wilson's room where the two girls were "grossly intoxicated", and one was naked.

Within about 10 minutes, Rehu had raped both of them, in front of their friend and Wilson. After Rehu left, Wilson raped one of them again and was violating the second one before being interrupted by the hostel manager, who called the police. When the manager returned, Wilson was again trying to violate the second girl, Judge Tuohy said.

By then, both girls were vomiting, "virtually comatose" and had to be taken to hospital for severe intoxication, Judge Tuohy said.

Judge Tuohy said Rehu appeared to have no insight or remorse for his actions which, while opportunistic, were aggravated by the age and vulnerability of the girls, who were incapable of giving informed consent.

"In short, you took advantage of two highly intoxicated 14-year-old girls... you had sex with them, one after the other."

The rapes had had a "devastating effect" on the victims, who were severely damaged emotionally and educationally, and their families. Rehu, unemployed, had no previous sexual convictions.

He sentenced Rehu to 10 years for each rape, to be served concurrently, and one month for supplying a cannabis joint, also concurrent.

The mother of one of the victims confronted Rehu in the court today, glaring at him as she described the damage to her daughter, who needs ongoing psychological help.

Asking for the harshest penalty, she said: "I saw my daughter on the night of the rape and the fact he did not care was evident by the state she was in."

"I hope one day you realise what you have done."

As he left, Rehu looked back at the family, and she yelled "Enjoy jail, you arsehole".

She told NZPA afterwards Rehu should have got double the sentence. "He deserved everything he got, because he didn't care."

"People like him are nothing; they have no empathy, no sympathy and no regard for anyone else."

Judge Tuohy said the sentences of the two men responsible must be on a par under the Sentencing Act.

Wilson - who he believed was even more culpable than Rehu because of his age and the worsened state of the girls - was last year sentenced to eight years' jail, after an early guilty plea saw 3-1/2 years taken off his initial sentence of 11-1/2 years.

- NZPA