At about 1am she went into a house at the rear of the property. Walker followed and grabbed her in a bear hug, saying something to the effect that he knew she was in love with him. The woman said she wasn’t, told him to shut up, and pushed him away. Walker said he wanted to have sex with her and tried again to kiss her. The woman pushed him away and went back outside.
Later Walker followed her to a bedroom, again trying to kiss her, and sat down beside her on the end of the bed. She tried to persuade him to leave but he wouldn’t. As she lay down to try to go to sleep, he got on top of her. She kicked him, causing him to fall on the floor, then went to sleep in a lounge room.
Walker subsequently admitted his offending. Judge Bolstad noted a restorative justice conference had resulted in a good report. The meeting had allowed the victim and her supporters to be open and honest about the impacts the offending had, the judge said.
“It provided you and your whānau to recognise not only your actions but the ramifications of them.”
The report also recorded those present had discussed how to assist in the victim’s healing and that Walker’s family suggested there be some kind of forum where he could speak in support of her.
At the outset of the sentencing hearing, Judge Bolstad told a large group of people in the public gallery that there wouldn’t be any “winners or losers”. She knew some people wouldn’t like her decision but they had to accept she was bound by the law.
She offered to grant an adjournment so Walker could first make good his vow to hold a community meeting, suggesting he did so at a local sporting club in which he and the victim were both involved. It would help the woman reintegrate with people in the community who had rejected her, the judge said. However, the woman declined, saying she wanted sentencing to proceed.
Considering the legal test for the discharge application, the judge assessed Walker’s offending as moderate. She accepted counsel Elliot Lynch’s identification of aggravating features, including the scale and persistence of the offending and the victim’s vulnerability due to her small stature and the disparity in strength between her and Walker.
However, the judge said she was satisfied the direct and indirect consequences of conviction would be out of all proportion to the gravity of the offence. She noted Walker had no previous convictions. He was passionate about pursuing his employment as a barber and to do so, would need to travel overseas to places like the US and UK. The judge also noted the effect a conviction like this would have on Walker’s ability to fully participate as a parent in the future activities of his two young children — school camps and other events that would likely require police vetting.
The judge pointed to positive comments in reports for the court that Walker was genuinely remorseful for the victim and that he was embarrassed and ashamed of his actions. He had attended alcohol and other drug counselling, which the counsellor said Walker had certainly needed. However, he had done well to address his rehabilitative needs and given his positive progress, no further interventions were needed.
He had also done 52 hours of voluntary work, cleaning the field at the local rugby park, marking the fields and taking away rubbish, had given people free haircuts, and provided support at a local marae.
The judge urged him to stay true to his word at restorative justice that he would hold some kind of forum in the community to help the woman reintegrate.
Police were neutral on the discharge application but prosecutor Monique Rowe reminded the court it was obliged to consider the impact of the offending on the victim and that because of “clean slate” legislation, Walker could still work overseas in future.
