A teenage girl who was raped by her schoolmate has told of the nightmares and flashbacks that have left her ‘a shell of who she used to be’ as she described her attacker as a monster who belongs behind bars.
The girl told the children’s court that the rape – at a weekend party in late November 2019 – had left her shamed and irreversibly damaged. “[I wish] we could turn back time and stay home for a movie instead of going to that stupid party,” he said.
A girl who was raped by her schoolmate said the crime has left her irreversibly damagedCredit:iStock
The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was found guilty in May of six counts of sexual intercourse without consent and one count of intentional suffocation without permission. He will be sentenced on August 25.
At Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, the court heard an initially consensual act between two Katoomba High students turned non-consensual and involved multiple violations. The perpetrator expressed no remorse and has continued to maintain his not guilty plea.
His lawyer argued for a non-custodial sentence, saying the boy had a job, a stable girlfriend and no signs of pre-existing psychopathology or personality disorders. I wanted to study music and go into aviation.
He also said the rape had taken place on a mattress in a living room, the girl had her phone, there were people nearby and the offender had not invited her to the party. “There was no power imbalance,” he said. “I notice they were the same age.”
But in her victim impact statement, read in front of her rapist, the girl described how she had struggled every day since it happened. “You went on living your life without the repercussions of raping me,” he said.
“I will never recover from what you did. But I still choose not to end it all every day and live the best life I can for myself despite your cruelty.”
He said the boy’s younger sisters deserved more. “It hurts me to know you’re the man they probably loved and to know the reality of the monster you are.” Her mother had to hold her while she sobbed, and her father had to wake her from her nightmares.