"There was a mistaken belief in consent ... crossed wires," Mr Macklin said. The incident had brought other abuse to the surface but the woman just wanted to move on with her life.
In his submissions Waite's lawyer Andy Schulze confirmed Waite suffered intellectual difficulties and said he had also had a "tragic" upbringing.
The victim had put Waite in the wardrobe and then forgotten after playing on the computer, Mr Schulze said.
"It is quite clear the victim and Mr Waite were at crossed purposes ... this was opportunistic offending," he said.
Judge Wolff said while Waite had developed a friendship with the woman, helping her around the home and with her part-time job, the night of the rape he took advantage of her.
"She was scared ... the genesis was crossed wires which later resulted in the tragedy that befell upon her," he said. "You did not receive the message to proceed and had intentionally gone on without her consent. No reasonable person in the circumstances would have believed they had consent.
"A message needs to be sent to the community that sexual behaviour of this type will not be tolerated ... You were aware," the judge said.
