Robin Lynn Hermansen in about 1995. Photo / Supplied
A woman who was raped as a teenager 40 years ago was moved to take action when she learned her attacker had abused another child, 20 years later.
The younger woman, now an adult, has spoken of the effects of being abused, describing years of anxiety, depression, mental illness, alcohol abuse and suicidal thoughts.
Both women have been speaking out about Napier man Robin Lynn Hermansen, now in his mid-70s, who is serving six years in prison for his crimes against them.
The older woman, identified in court documents as JF, is now 54 and lived near Hermansen in the early 1980s, when she was aged 14 and 15.
Hermansen was found guilty after a Napier District Court trial last year on two charges of raping the underage teenager between 1981 and 1983, and one of supplying her with cannabis, which Judge Russell Collins said Hermansen used to control her.
The younger woman, Kendall (not her real name), is a relative of Hermansen and is now 25. At a second trial last year, Hermansen was found guilty of indecent assault on her around 2003, when she was aged 7.
The events which brought Hermansen to justice arose out of a chance meeting in a hair salon.
JF lives and works in Australia and found out about the abuse of Kendall after bumping into the younger woman's mother, whom she had known previously, while visiting the salon on a trip back to Napier.
JF later wrote a victim impact statement for Hermansen's first Napier District Court trial in which she said hearing about the second victim was "soul-destroying" and left her feeling guilty.
This week, in a telephone interview, she said she walked out of the salon and "just about vomited over the street" when she realised her lack of action against Hermansen had allowed him to offend against another child.
"I was staying with a girlfriend ... I went back to her place and just lost it and said, 'What do I f****** do?' I was just beside myself."
The girlfriend she was staying with knew a detective. After taking his advice, JF phoned the police and told them: "This is what happened to me at 14 and what can I do to help this kid?"
She was told to come in and record a video interview, and the first prosecution of Hermansen followed. It resulted in Hermansen being found guilty by a jury and sentenced in July 2021 to five years and four months in prison.
Kendall was emboldened to make her own complaint after the first prosecution. In her case, Hermansen was jailed in September 2021 for a further eight months, to be added to the jail term he was already serving.
Kendall explained the effects of being abused as a 7-year-old in a lengthy victim impact statement she read to the court. In it, she said she had thought about committing suicide "many times".
"Childhood sexual abuse goes beyond the moment it happens, it has lifelong impacts," she said.
"My innocence and my right to live a full life was taken away from me at the very moment I was sexually abused by Robin."
Kendall said she "always felt dirty" as a child because of the abuse and felt that it was her fault. She could not sleep peacefully because she thought someone would come to her room and abuse her again.
She found it hard to concentrate in school, was sometimes "paralysed with anxiety" or full of anger, and did not eat properly for a year, instead hiding food in her wardrobe.
"I was petrified of adult males and, when anyone complimented me, I thought that they were going to abuse me."
Hermansen continued to intimidate her, punching her arm whenever he saw her, not in a friendly or joking way, but painfully to assert dominance.
Kendall said as she got older, the memory of abuse became more vivid and came to mind more often. Her friendships at school fell apart and she was diagnosed with depression and underwent counselling.
"My self-esteem and self-worth spiralled further downwards as I got older, which led me to have romantic relationships that were unhealthy," the victim impact statement said.
"I would sleep with men because I thought that I had to. I thought that it was my sole purpose to be there for men's pleasure. I had believed this ever since I was sexually abused as a child."
Kendall said she had been in therapy since 2018 and would continue with it "for the rest of my life". She had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and since 2019 had been on medication for depression and anxiety after suffering frequent nightmares.
She would sometimes wake up so stressed that she had to stay in bed for hours to compose herself. When her anxiety escalated, she found it hard to leave the house. She would have extremely long showers and over-groom herself because she still felt dirty.
"I battle every day with the fact that I have to live with mental illness," she said. "I wish that I could turn it off and live a 'normal' life."
Kendall, who lives outside Hawke's Bay, said she could not return to her home region without having panic attacks.
Kendall said since she spoke up, Hermansen had tried to "gaslight" her and her family by calling her crazy and saying she was ruining his life.
"Robin is an abuser, a manipulator, a narcissistic and arrogant man. I don't think Robin will ever truthfully and remorsefully face what he has done. Robin lives in an absolute fantasy world," Kendall told the court.
Interviewed by Open Justice, Kendall said one of the reasons she wanted to speak publicly now was to help any other potential victims.
"Even if they don't want to come forward, it might be nice for them to read it, to see that he is serving some time. It might give them some peace of mind," she said.
JF said that Hermansen had shown no remorse for raping her and had also tried to blame her for his "vile, despicable acts of filth".
She said it had always been in the back of her mind "that he's out there up to no good with someone else".
While feeling guilty about not speaking out sooner about Hermansen, JF told Open Justice that she might not have been believed had she made a complaint in 1982 or 1983. In his sentencing notes, Judge Collins concurred.
Asked about delays in reporting abuse, Mobeena Hills, a Christchurch-based lawyer who has acted for hundreds of abuse survivors, said most of them have been in their 50s or 60s.
"The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Australia found that on average it takes 25 years for a survivor to recall the abuse that they suffered due to repressed memory, a psychological state that the survivor goes into, almost like a flight or fight response," she said.
She has also found that "survivors like to help other survivors".
"There is safety in numbers, knowing that they are not alone in their journey, as well as a sense of doing something by giving back, by pursuing employment in social work or disability services," she said.
In sentencing Hermansen in Kendall's case, Judge Bridget Mackintosh said the breach of trust involved was "at the high end", because Hermansen abused her while she was in his house and he was supposed to be looking after her.
Judge Mackintosh also acknowledged the effect the abuse would have on Kendall's life.
"She will have to shoulder the burden of your offending throughout her lifetime, and that is a big burden to carry," the judge said.
Kendall said she hoped Hermansen would think about what he had done and the people he had hurt while serving his time.
"Hopefully he feels remorse for what he has done, but I'm not sure that he is the sort of person who would feel remorse or even admit what he had done," she said.
Prisoners sentenced to more than two years in jail are able to apply for parole after one third of their sentence has been served.
This means Hermansen will become eligible to be considered by the Parole Board next year.
* In this story Kendall supplied the photo and agreed to its use. Although she does not want her real name used, she has had her name suppression lifted so she has freedom to talk about the case.
NZ Police Victim Support 0800 842 846
Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00.
Rape Prevention Education Empowerment Trust HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655.
Safe to talk: a 24/7 confidential helpline for survivors, support people and those with harmful sexual behaviour: 0800 044 334.
Mosaic - Tiaki Tangata Peer support for males who have experienced trauma and sexual abuse: 0800 94 22 94.
In an emergency or if you feel someone is at risk, call 111.
The victim was found dead at home about 4.30am the next day.