Hamilton rape victim feared she was going to die: 'He almost killed me and my daughter'

Lorenz Mekuli has been jailed for raping a young mum in front of her daughter after breaking into their Hamilton home earlier this year.

A woman who was raped in front of her daughter in her own home says she feared she was going to die.

The woman, who has automatic name suppression, was attacked and then raped in the hallway of her Hamilton home by 17-year-old Lorenz Lorenz Shannyn Mekuli about 7am on April 7 this year.

Mekuli was jailed for eight years by Judge Louis Bidois in the Hamilton District Court this morning on a raft of charges including rape, unlawful sexual connection, assaulting a female, assaulting a child and attempted abduction.

The victim told the Herald today she was "really disappointed" at Mekuli's jail term considering what she and her daughter had been through.

"He almost killed me and he almost killed my daughter," she said.

Although Mekuli has been behind bars since his arrest days after the incident, she continues to live in fear that he or his associates will strike again.

She said her daughter was doing okay but her life had been turned upside down; she lost her job, lost her house and lost her life.

She said she still struggled to sleep.

"It's not good. I can't understand how this has happened."

The victim was also disappointed that she wasn't believed when she told investigators that he had been around to her house two weeks prior, knocking on her window late at night.

When he bowled into her bedroom on the morning of the attack she recognised him straight away but never said anything.

"It's really, really hard to have a normal life again."

She contemplated moving towns but even then, the fear of Mekuli would remain.

"I still can't believe that it happened in my own place. How can this happen in New Zealand?"

Recalling Mekuli strangle her and her daughter - with one hand around each of their throats - she heard her daughter say "mum, I can't breath".

"I was begging him to please don't do anything to my daughter," she said.

Although she couldn't block out the noise, she told her daughter to close her eyes and Mekuli carried out his violent rape which included him punching her to the face several times.

After the attack Mekuli demanded she drive him to a secure place to run free.

When they got to the front door, she spotted a neighbour in his driveway and saw an opportunity to escape.

She grabbed her daughter, pushed her in front of her and ran down across the road to the safety of her neighbour who then called police.

"I was really frightened and in so much pain, but just the fact that he was trying to take us somewhere and I was like 'oh my God, I need to make a way to escape' because I didn't want my daughter to die."

"I just want everyone to know how disappointed I am for [jail term] ...and he's changed my life."