Auckland District Court. Photo / Nick Reed
An Auckland man who tried to rape someone who was a friend at the time has been granted a sentence discount for expressing what a judge described as “genuine remorse”, despite earlier fighting the charge at trial.
A jury found Luca Sidney Oscar Richards, a company director with a “privileged background”, guilty of one charge of assault with intent to commit rape at an Auckland District Court trial, and he was sentenced last July.
While the Herald applied for access to the summary of facts and Judge Mary Beth Sharp’s sentencing notes that month, the request has only been granted in the past week.
Richards was approached for comment through his lawyer.
In her ruling, Judge Sharp noted how “unusual” it was to see “genuine remorse” at the sentencing stage of a prosecution.
“I cannot give Mr Richards a discount for a guilty plea, but his remorse is almost similar and almost places him in a similar sort of category,” she wrote in her sentencing notes.
“This is somebody who, notwithstanding the very severe future impacts of a sexual violence conviction against his name, has wholeheartedly embraced his wrongdoing.”
According to the summary, Richards and the victim were at a party in April 2015 when an unrelated incident occurred, making the woman feel unsafe. Both were 18 at the time.
“She proceeded outside of the house party. Mr Richards joined [her] and consoled her. Mr Richards offered [her] refuge at his parents’ property nearby. He claimed they could make food, and [she] could sleep there to save her the lengthy trip home,” the summary said.
Judge Sharp said the woman went back to Richards’ house clearly on the understanding that they were just platonic friends.
She said the woman knew she would have to stay in his bed as there was no spare bed, but she was trusting.
“There are many of us who have done likewise and we have always done so on complete trust and that is wherein lies the rub, because that trust was badly breached and violated.”
The summary said the pair were lying clothed in the bed watching a movie when Richards shut the laptop and removed it from between them, then turned off the lights.
The woman believed he wanted to go to sleep, so she rolled over to sleep also.
Richards then put his legs on either side of her body, tried to remove her clothes, and attempted to sexually abuse her, the document said.
“Don’t be build ups”, the now 28-year-old allegedly said.
The woman tried to push Richards off but was unable to. As she continued to struggle, he restrained her.
Richards, Judge Sharp said, now readily accepted that the woman was not interested in him and that he had restrained her and attempted to have sex with her.
“Eventually, possibly I have to say because he could not achieve or maintain an erection, he was unable to proceed and, therefore, as [his lawyer] has said in his submissions, acceded to the rejection and resistance, rolled over and went to sleep.”
The woman, Judge Sharp said, was forced to spend the night in what must have been a traumatic situation, as she had no way home and was unable to contact her father.
“She was clearly shaken by what had happened.”
Richards’ lawyer, Ron Mansfield, sought a 50% sentence discount for his client. The Crown proposed a 25% reduction.
Judge Sharp said: “Mr Richards is in a position where the mere fact of a conviction for assault with intent to rape is a huge punishment.”
She said his partner was from another country and she had doubts about whether he could live in that country with a conviction of this nature.
“They do hope to be able to live together, marry and start a family.”
Judge Sharp wrote that there were many countries he would be unable to visit due to this conviction, but noted that he possibly had British citizenship.
Richards is currently listed as a director of a UK business.
“It is rare, particularly in the world of a person who in most circumstances would be described as being of a privileged background – and I do not mean that financially but in terms of family support, education, future prospects – will end up so impeded and handicapped by something that happened when he was a youth."
She set a two-and-a-half-year starting point and applied an unspecified discount, somewhere between 25-50%, for remorse, rehabilitation and youth at the time of the offending.
“Mr Richards has made a very good life for himself, and I am so sad that [the victim] has been unable to thus far, but I do hope that she will have some closure from this sentencing.”
Judge Sharp said that since his arrest, Richards had lost a business and experienced “substantial difficulties with many things associated with his career”.
“He has already suffered many of the consequences of not only being arrested for a sexual crime like this, but of being found guilty of it and, as I say, he will now have a serious conviction against his name,” she wrote in her decision.
“I have no doubt that Mr Richards will have a very fine and honest, not to mention future untrammelled by any issues of sexual violence. He is well thought of by the women in his life, and in particular his partner. He will not behave like this again. He will not reoffend.”
Judge Sharp said imposing a home detention sentence would be to “mark this offending as even more serious than it was”.
She imposed a six-month sentence of community detention, meaning Richards had to be home during the hours of 8pm and 6am during that period.
The judge also accepted his $10,000 emotional harm offer to the victim, and ordered Richards to make the payment.
“That is an end to the matter, and I wish everybody good luck, especially you.”
Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers issues including sexual assault, workplace misconduct, media, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.