She said the last thing he said to her after she was woken by him raping her was: “See, it wasn’t that bad, was it?”
“Let me tell you it was and continues to be,” the woman said of the irreversible trauma and the life he had stolen from her.
Today, Harris, 52, was sentenced to seven years and five months’ imprisonment after he was found guilty at trial of rape, indecent assault and unlawful sexual connection.
His family members and supporters in the public gallery smirked and shook their heads as the victim spoke of her life since and the bravery needed to speak out when she had initially wanted to protect them from what he’d done.
She detailed the “sadistic torment” she endured from his supporters, which proved none had accepted or acknowledged what he had done.
“The threats and intimidation have to stop,” she said.
“This isn’t about making you or your family suffer. I wanted to protect your family from what you did but I realised I was protecting you.”
Defence lawyer Tony Bamford said that while Harris accepted the jury’s finding, he maintained his innocence.
The woman was raped by Harris at a mutual friend’s house in October 2021.
The victim had been invited to the friend’s house for a social evening and arrived about an hour after Harris, whom she had known for years through a family connection.
The three drank for several hours until they were described in the police summary of facts as intoxicated.
At about 11.30pm the host announced she was going to bed. She had made up a downstairs room for her friend, the victim, but suggested Harris stay because he was too drunk to drive home.
The victim then planned to sleep in the host’s bed.
After the host went to bed, Harris and the victim were left in the living room. But as she went to the kitchen to get something to eat before heading to bed, he grabbed her around the waist and tried to kiss her.
As she resisted and tried to make her way to her friend’s bedroom, he dragged her away and then carried her to a bedroom downstairs.
Judge Tony Zohrab said Harris had forced himself upon her, and at one point she had kissed him back to try to get out of the situation.
At the bottom of the stairs, the woman fell over and recalled him removing her jeans but she could not remember much else until she was woken the next morning by Harris “having sex with her”.
She tried pushing him away, telling him “no”, but he “shushed” her, inferring that she remained quiet and continued.
Judge Zohrab said she froze in fear, having been woken from a deep sleep, and being heavily intoxicated she was in no condition to consent.
Afterwards, as Harris slept, the victim went to her friend’s room and Harris left a short time later.
The woman suffered injuries including bleeding and bruising to her legs and back that remained painful for some time.
She had also suffered significant psychological and emotional damage, Judge Zohrab said.
The woman told police when she reported what happened a few weeks later that she had never wanted sex with Harris either before that night or during the night in question.
When approached by police, he said it was “all wrong” and that the sex had been consensual.
Judge Zohrab said in sentencing Harris that not only had the victim been vulnerable but there had also been a breach of trust, given the family connection.
“You were someone she could trust and be expected to look after her interests.”
Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She was previously RNZ’s regional reporter in Nelson-Marlborough and has covered general news, including court and local government for the Nelson Mail.
