Victim retracts allegations
The woman went to Women’s Refuge and gave police an evidential video interview, but later retracted her allegations.
She continued to deny those allegations when giving evidence in a trial at the Napier District Court.
However, a jury found Wharepapa guilty on 11 of 16 charges.
These were five charges of assault with a weapon and six of assault on a person in a family relationship.
One of the weapon charges and two of the assault in a family relationship charges were representative, meaning they covered more than one incident.
Judge Richard Earwaker sentenced Wharepapa to three years and two months in prison.
Wharepapa appealed his sentence to the Court of Appeal on the grounds that the starting point used in calculating the sentence was too high, and insufficient discounts were given for “deprivation and disadvantage” he had experienced in life.
In particular, he said Judge Earwaker did not take into account the way his methamphetamine addiction contributed to his offending.
His lawyer, Rennie Gould, argued that a two-year term of imprisonment with release conditions to address his alcohol and drug dependency would have been more appropriate.
The appeal court justices disagreed, and dismissed the appeal against sentence.
Their decision said the judge had recognised the impact of Wharepapa’s addiction, and the steps he had taken to attend rehabilitation programmes, in the discounts that had been given.
They said that Judge Earwaker also had before him information about the time Wharepapa had spent in a boys’ home as a child, his lengthy history of substance abuse, and his early exposure to drugs and alcohol which was part of the gang culture surrounding him.
“The judge cannot be criticised for referring to the purpose of sentencing which he considered most relevant in the circumstances, being accountability,” the Court of Appeal decision said.
“The judge went on to note that the sentence also needed to denounce Mr Wharepapa’s conduct and deter others from committing such offending.
“Given the prevalence of intimate partner violence offending by Mr Wharepapa and more generally, both are material considerations.”
Various weapons used
The Court of Appeal decision said Wharepapa had used various weapons to attack the complainant, including the hammer, a patu, the cigarette and a firework.
The offending also included attacks to the head, but the court decision said that the hammer blows did not result in the serious injury that might be expected.
After tying the woman to the pole in his living room, Wharepapa gagged her, poured water on her and directed a fan at her, “presumably to chill her”, and put a cigarette out on her leg.
The court was told that Wharepapa grew up in a household which was “quite rough”. The children “were loved and fed” but he was physically abused by both his parents.
His father was a heavy drinker and cannabis user, who introduced him to cannabis at the age of 12, about the age when he was sent to live at the boys’ home, where he experienced further abuse and his substance abuse increased.
He began using methamphetamine in his 20s, which had a “devastating impact” on his life.
Ric Stevens spent many years working for the former New Zealand Press Association news agency, including as a political reporter at Parliament, before holding senior positions at various daily newspapers. He joined NZME’s Open Justice team in 2022 and is based in Hawke’s Bay. His writing in the crime and justice sphere is informed by four years of frontline experience as a probation officer.
