Victim tells of 26 hours at hands of brutal sex abuser

Trevor Eagle

The victim at the centre of one of the most horrific sexual crimes in New Zealand history sat behind 2-metre-high screens - blocked off from her perpetrator and the public gaze - as she read out a chilling account of the 26-hour ordeal in January.

In the dock at the High Court at Napier her attacker, Trevor Eagle, 31, sat motionless as a large media contingent and family members listened in stunned silence.

"I'm a 24-year-old female living with my fiance. I am an office administrator from Tamatea," she began.

"I had no form of relationship with Trevor Eagle. I had never seen him or met him before."

She first described her physical injuries, which included bruises to her legs, arms, torso, and bottom. Her face was raw from numerous slaps to it, and her head hurt from being smashed against the car's console. She found it hard to swallow from being "throttled".

Internal injuries were described as extremely painful and made it difficult to walk for some time afterwards. Her feet were left raw from the three-hour walk on gravel roads during her escape. "It was like walking on glass for a week afterwards."

She was also dehydrated from the trauma and the quantity of alcohol that had been forced down her throat during the episode.

The statement was read out in a steady, well-rehearsed voice, belying the psychological impact of the attack on her life.

While she understood the need for it, she said the forensic examination afterwards "added insult to injury" and was "incredibly intrusive".

She described her ongoing terror and anxiety. She was afraid of people who expressed anger, raised their voices or made loud noises.

"I feel extremely unsafe in my own home."

She could still feel the knife pressed against her body. She could still feel, smell and taste the things Trevor Eagle did to her and forced her to do to him. She could still hear his threats to hack off large clumps of her hair with the knife.

To this day, as she showers, she can still see him watching her from inside her own bathroom.

She said the worst part of the ordeal was when he blindfolded her, because it was then that she became convinced that he was about to kill her.

While in the depths of the Mohaka Forest, he did not expect her to escape in the darkness. When, at 3am, she finally did, he hunted for her for six hours. For two hours following his departure, she remained where she was - afraid to even look at her watch, scared that its luminous glow would alert him to her whereabouts.

Justice Forrest Miller praised the woman for showing "remarkable courage and poise".

Many of the 11 charges were representative, and they included sexual violation, rape, aggravated burglary, indecent assault, abduction and unlawful taking of a motor vehicle.

The judge asked her about reports that she had been subjected to intense media scrutiny, which included one paper publishing a picture of her house, resulting in increased traffic driving by her house, as people stared in to her property.

She firmly stated she wished to play no part in talking to the media, and objected to any approaches made. Justice Miller then told the court that while public interest was understandable, the victim's privacy had to be respected.

Crown prosecutor Jonathan Krebs said aggravating features were numerous in the attack.

The prisoner timed his intrusion into his victim's home after her fiance had left for work, around 5.15am. He forced her to take a shower and dress in specific clothing, and restrained her with handcuffs.

"Gratuitous violence" included strangulation, twice to the point of nearly losing consciousness. Eagle also threatened on numerous occasions to kill her, but relented after telling his victim that sex would not be as good with a dead person.

Eagle's consumption of methamphetamine was one of the reasons behind the crimes, but not an excuse, defence counsel Derek Quilliam said.

Justice Miller said Eagle had failed to co-operate with mental health assessors, who thought he harboured delusional fantasies which included a desire to dominate and denigrate women.

Eagle's risk of reoffending was high, the judge said.

Justice Miller sentenced Eagle to preventive detention, meaning he may never be released from jail by a parole board. A minimum non-parole period of 10 years was imposed, which, outside court, Sensible Sentencing Trust spokeswoman Wendy Pedler said was not enough.

"She [the victim] has my utmost respect and admiration. The strength of character she showed today is probably the reason she is still here today."



THE SENTENCE

* Preventive detention, an open-ended jail sentence handed down to the country's most dangerous violent or sex offenders.

* A judge can set a minimum period before which an inmate is not considered for parole.

* In 2004, 34 offenders received the sentence, nearly twice the previous high of 18 in the year to June 2000.