Hamilton rapist Gregory Simon tells judge to “f*** off” at sentencing

However, the situation became heated when Simon’s lawyer, James Olsen, spoke to the judge about his conduct while in custody and his failure to contact the Department of Corrections to obtain a pre-sentence report.

Judge Tompkins found that he had committed three counts of misconduct in prison within three months, prompting Simon to scream, “Oh, f***ing bitch.”

“There has been no misconduct against me for at least a year,” Simon said, adding that allegations like these are the reason he no longer trusts or works with the department.

When the judge tried to speak, Simon said, “Fuck you!” and declared that he wanted to go back to the cell and would accept any sentence imposed on him.

It later turned out that Simon was right and the incident was due to a misunderstanding.

Victim strangled until shortly before unconsciousness

The Hamilton man’s crime occurred in late 2021 while a woman was staying at a Cambridge motel in emergency accommodation after she contacted him via social media.

Simon repeatedly punched the victim in the head and face before choking her so violently that she lost control of her bladder and nearly lost consciousness.

While she was being strangled, the woman tried to grab a hammer, but Simon got there first and hit her on the head three times, although not with much force.

There was a small relief when Simon reached for a water-soaked towel to wipe the blood from her face.

However, when the woman refused to perform oral sex because of the assaults, Simon committed two sexual assaults.

He then told the victim that he would make sure she was killed if she went to the police.

“Fear continues to this day”

Prosecutor Rebecca Guthrie said the strangulation to the point where she lost consciousness “or at least felt that way”, along with the repeated hammer blows to the head, took the attack “into a different category”.

She said there was premeditation, a break-in into a home, her vulnerability and his threats to try to dissuade her from reporting the physical and violent attacks to the police.

She asked Judge Tompkins to set the prison term at 13 to 14 years.

“The impact is significant… the psychological impact and also the sense of security and the ongoing fear that she has to this day.”

Simon also had a 40-year criminal history, which included drug offenses. It was noted that he was using meth and was drunk at the time of the crime.

Guthrie noted Simon’s refusal to cooperate with the Department of Corrections in preparing sentencing reports “or to participate in this process at all” and he was deemed to be at high risk of reoffending and harming others.

Given the serious nature of the various circumstances, she urged Judge Tompkins to impose a minimum period of imprisonment without parole.

Conviction history “ancient”

Simon’s lawyer James Olsen said that while there were several aggravating circumstances, he did not confirm that there was intent or that it was a burglary.

“He did not break into the house or stay there illegally.”

Simon had a long criminal history, although there were no sexual offenses, they were “very old and I would even go so far as to say ancient”.

There was also “no direct evidence” of meth consumption that evening and the prosecution only suspected this because meth had been the trigger for previous crimes.

Judge Tompkins charged her with strangulation because she had lost or nearly lost consciousness.

He found that Simon had gotten lost in the yard because he was struggling and had set off a sprinkler system.

Given the circumstances of the charge and the absence of any mitigating circumstances, the ten-and-a-half-year prison sentence served at the beginning of his sentence also marked the end of his sentence.

He also ordered that Simon serve at least 40% of his sentence without parole.

Belinda Feek is a reporter for Open Justice based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for nine years and has been a journalist for 20 years.