By Rayssa Almeida of RNZ
A former Army officer has been sentenced to four years in prison after raping a sex worker in Wellington.
Savenaca Seruvatu was convicted of sexual violation by rape in the Wellington District Court in February, after removing a condom without consent during sexual intercourse in an adult entertainment club in Lower Hutt in September 2020.
Seruvatu appeared in Wellington District Court, where Judge Ian Mill recounted the facts of the offending.
Seravatu had made a booking at TK’s Parlour to meet with a sex worker.
“[He] made enquiries about having sex without a condom and we heard evidence both from the receptionist and also from [the victim] about that,” the court was told.
Judge Mill said Seruvatu offered the victim - a Wellington resident - $200 and a food grant to have sex without protection.
“She declined and explained to [Seruvatu] that there could not be penetrative sex without a condom, and, in fact, it is illegal for her to do so.”
The victim - who RNZ is calling Holly - said at trial that during sex she “became aware that something was not right”.
“She put a hand down and felt the condom had been removed,” the judge said.
“Then she tensed herself and told [Seruvatu] several times to stop, but [he] continued to penetrate her for several minutes.”
In his defence at trial, Seruvatu said the condom must have come off accidentally.
However, the jury did not accept that, with Holly later finding the condom under the pillow on the bed.
Seruvatu actions in removing the condom were premeditated, the judge said.
“You were several times told what the rules were.
“You tried to offer incentives and, therefore, you were wanting to have unprotected sex, and, in the end, you decided to go ahead with that. So, there was some planning and premeditation.”
The judge said the impact on the victim was very significant and debilitating for her.
“She was essentially having sexual intercourse with a stranger and the risks are obvious and those are the things, of course, that have made it so traumatic for her.”
During the trial, Seruvatu’s defence said he did not use force during the time that the condom was off and stopped when requested by the victim.
Judge Mill disagreed.
“The evidence of Holly was that when she became aware, she tensed her body in a way that would make it difficult for you to have intercourse with her and she told you to stop.
“Not once, but several times, and that you continued and, of course, some force was needed to do that.”
This was not a case of withdrawn consent, the judge said.
“It was a case that there never was consent to the act that constituted the rape.
“I also take into account the aggravating features of mental health to the victim and also exposing her to the risks associated with unprotected sex.”
In 2009, Savenaca Seruvatu, then an Army officer, was found guilty of sending a series of lewd texts to a woman captain at a military trial at Wellington’s Trentham Army Base.
This time, his sentencing was reduced by 30 per cent due to his service in the Fijian and the New Zealand armies, as well as his “distinguished contribution in the public health system”.
Judge Mill said: “I think you are entitled to what I consider a generous discount for your previous good character, and then again for your contribution to society, both in the armed forces and outside of that.”
Holly said the discount in the sentencing was discouraging.
“For him to get a discount for his military time kind of made me sick to my stomach.”
She said the sentencing helped send a message to other sex workers going through the same.
“It’s a huge win for the [sex worker] community.
“For [the case] to actually go through court and for then to be a guilty verdict and then the sentence, I feel like it’s actually really important. More sex workers should realise things like that shouldn’t be a normality for us.”
Holly said the process has taken a toll on her mental health.
“For the victim, it doesn’t really get any better, even after the sentencing, there’s still quite a long journey for me to go and I am getting counselling, so hopefully that helps.
“I’m still living every day with anxiety; I’m still trying to reattach myself to society. It’s not an easy process but it is a necessary one.”
In her victim impact statement to court, Holly said she was trying to start anew.
“I had a home, a new job and a new life - but as our first trial drew closer, I began to break again. I still struggled to use the words to describe it, and it was easier to call it an attack because they wouldn’t pity me as much. I began to withdraw again, using whatever I could to hide in my body and spiral and want to give up on life.
“I refused to leave my house. Everywhere I looked I had flashbacks, and any hard work of coping strategies I developed has gone. These three years have been the longest and worst of my life, and I’m at the point of losing everything I have again.
“I’m hoping from today you begin to be a memory that I work through and move past, and through getting justice, I gained some power back.”
Prostitutes Collective Wellington regional coordinator Cherida Fraser was Holly’s first point of contact after the crime.
“The worker involved came to me the day after it happened... and we liaised with our police liaison people to make sure she could speak to the police and report the crime.”
Fraser said the case opened space for other workers to report crimes without the fear of not being believed due to their job.
“It’s another powerful message to our sex work community that they are believed, that they do have access to justice and that they can get justice.
“I think there may be a perception out there that sex workers won’t report or won’t seek justice due to stigma, and I think sometimes the stigma of sex work continues to be exploited by people who don’t think sex workers will report.”
The sentencing sent a message to sex workers that they have access to justice like anybody else when these violations of consent happen, Fraser said.
“There’s a lot of sexual violence that doesn’t get through the justice system because it’s very difficult for anybody who’s the victim of sexual violence to speak about it.
“For sex workers, the stigma can be a barrier but that doesn’t mean you should come forward. In this case, justice has been served.”