Christchurch man beats woman with wooden bat, holds at knife point when she refuses to have sex with him

Lyall Hetariki repeatedly hit the woman with a wooden baseball bat because he said she "wouldn't give him a root". Photo / Thinkstock

A man who beat a woman with a wooden baseball bat and held her at knifepoint because she refused to have sex has been described as a “beautiful man” by the victim.

Lyall Anzac Hetariki appeared at the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday for sentencing after repeatedly hitting her with a bat, leaving bruising.

The 52-year-old was charged with assaulting a person with a blunt instrument and a stabbing weapon and refusing to provide police with his photograph or fingerprints.

However, the woman, who said she was asleep when she got “attacked for no reason” hoped Hetariki could get the help and support he needed.

According to the summary of facts, on December 14 last year Hetariki went into the woman’s bedroom about 3am and woke her up to initiate sex.

When she refused he picked up a wooden baseball bat and began hitting her in the back, causing the woman to roll off the bed onto the floor.

Hetariki then hit her on the head with the bat. The woman managed to get up and call the police, but Hetariki grabbed her and held a knife against her torso, cutting her.

Police arrived at the address a short time later and Hetariki was arrested. While in police custody he refused to provide his photo and fingerprints.

When questioned, Hetariki admitted hitting the woman with the baseball bat.

The woman suffered bruising to her back and arms and a cut to her torso.

The man’s lawyer said Hetariki had apologised to the woman during a restorative justice meeting and hoped she could move forward from the event.

Judge Quentin Hix described the woman as being vulnerable given she was asleep when Hetariki approached her. Hetariki’s offending was compounded by the fact he used two weapons against the woman.

The court heard Hetariki had 18 pages of previous convictions but most did not involve assault, indicating he was not a significantly violent person, Judge Hix said.

He then sentenced Hetariki to 15 months in prison and granted him leave to apply for a residential programme if there was space available.

Emily Moorhouse is a Christchurch-based Open Justice journalist at NZME. She joined NZME in 2022. Before that, she was at the Christchurch Star.