Seasonal worker goes to prison after admitting raping girl at train station

From rnz.co.nz and republished with permission

A seasonal worker who dragged an 11-year-old girl into the toilet at Blenheim railway station to rape her has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Steven Tari Tambean Garae, 24, pleaded guilty to rape and unlawful sexual intercourse following the attack on the schoolgirl last April. Both charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Garae, who is from Vanuatu, had a temporary visa as a recognized seasonal employer at the time.

At Blenheim District Court, Judge Tony Zohrab said it was a random attack, a brutal abuse of an 11-year-old girl on the floor of a toilet.

“You sacrificed your present and future well-being to satisfy your selfish sexual desires, and your selfish behavior had disastrous consequences for the victim and her family.”

The court heard that on a Sunday morning in April 2023, the victim was cycling with her friend, who was on a scooter, when Garae began to follow them.

Steven Garae, 24, was sentenced to seven years in prison when he appeared in the Blenheim District Court charged with the rape and sexual assault of a schoolgirl. Photo: RNZ / Samantha Gee

Garae struck up a conversation with the victim and as they approached the Sinclair Street train station, he dragged her by the wrist into a public toilet, locked the door and then sexually assaulted and raped her.

The girl’s friend ran across State Highway 1 to get help from people at a nearby bakery.

The attack lasted seven minutes, after which Garae ran away. He was later found and arrested by police. He initially claimed the sex was consensual, but then admitted to raping the girl.

In a statement on the girl’s impact on the victim, Judge Zohrab said she was now treated differently. People were more protective of her, while some of her friends had distanced themselves from her and others had teased and abused her.

“She said she was sad almost all the time and felt like things were getting worse, not better.

“She says she used to like herself, but now she doesn’t like herself as much and she sometimes feels like what happened was her fault.”

Innocence taken – Grandmother

Her grandmother told the court that Garae had sentenced the victim to life imprisonment.

“He took our granddaughter’s innocence and now we find it difficult to trust people and trust that this will not happen again.

“She can’t understand why she can’t go out alone like other children her age.”

After the attack, she had lost her appetite and was unable to eat for some time. She was taking sleeping pills and was being treated by a child psychiatrist, but there were ongoing concerns about her mental health.

The girl had to fly to Auckland for a forensic examination to undergo sexual assault, which included pregnancy and STI tests, and it was discovered that she had suffered internal injuries as a result of the rape.

Her grandmother said she was “sickened that someone could believe they could perform such sexual acts on an eleven-year-old child” and believe it was consensual.

Outside the courtroom, family members expressed their disappointment at the prison sentence. The minimum sentence was three and a half years and, in their opinion, was not long enough.

Complicating factors

Prosecutor Jackson Webber said it was a “horrific rape of a defenseless girl” and the kind of crime that “strikes fear into society.”

He said there were a number of aggravating circumstances: the fact of kidnapping, a certain degree of premeditation, the fact that the victim was young and vulnerable and that she had been subjected to a number of humiliations which had profoundly affected her well-being.

“It was so blatant, so violent, it was just a horrific crime that has shaken the community.”

Defence lawyer Emma Riddell said Garae had not coped well with his transfer to New Zealand and that solitary confinement had exacerbated his mental impairment.

She said Garae would be deported after serving his sentence and would not be released back into society or allowed to re-enter the country.

“But the parole board needs to see that he is undergoing treatment before they can be convinced that he should be deported to Vanuatu to ensure the safety of the Vanuatu community.”

Judge Zohrab said Garae’s selfish behaviour had had a disastrous impact on the victim, her family and the wider community.

“This type of crime strikes at the core of the community spirit.

“The people of Blenheim are wondering what is going on in their community when two 11-year-old girls cannot ride their bikes and scooters at 9:30 in the morning without being abused in this way.”

From the original sentence of ten years, Garae received a 25 percent reduction because of his early guilty plea and a 5 percent reduction because of his young age and previous good character.