Seasonal worker Steven Garae sentenced to seven years in prison for raping an 11-year-old schoolgirl from Blenheim

WARNING: This story contains evidence of a sexual nature that some readers may find disturbing

A seasonal worker from abroad who raped a young schoolgirl in the toilet building of a train station has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

Steven Tari Tambean Garae of Vanuatu pleaded guilty last year to rape and unlawful sexual contact following the April 2023 attack in Blenheim, which prosecutors described as “the stuff of nightmares”.

The girl was cycling with a friend of the same age when Garae grabbed her and dragged her into the toilet block of Blenheim Railway Station, where he raped her.

Today, supporters and members of the 11-year-old girl’s family wept quietly as her grandmother and primary carer read a victim impact statement.

“The trauma is still so fresh,” the victim’s grandmother said as Garae watched on a video screen from his custody.

She said the girl had been sad almost all the time and that this feeling had gotten worse – not better.

Prosecutor Jackson Webber said it was “a horrific rape of a defenseless girl.”

He said the impact was significant not only for the victim but also for the community.

“It was so blatant – so violent. It was just a horrific crime that galvanized the community because it was so random.”

According to the summary of facts, Garae, then 23, had arrived in New Zealand less than six months earlier on a seasonal, limited work visa.

It was a Sunday morning, April 2 last year, when Garae was walking along Dillons Point Road in Blenheim and came across the two young girls.

He followed them and approached as they approached the Sinclair Street train station, where he began speaking to the victim.

He walked next to her for about 100 m until they reached a public toilet in the train station parking lot.

Garae then grabbed the girl by the wrist and dragged her to the toilet block, where the incidents that led to the charge of unlawful sexual intercourse took place. This was followed by the rape, during which the girl sustained physical injuries.

The victim was forcibly restrained but attempted to kick Garae during the attack, which lasted seven minutes before fleeing the scene.

A concerned citizen contacted police and Garae was found and arrested an hour later. He claimed “the sex was consensual” but later admitted that he “forced the victim to have sex with him.”

Garae was initially charged with rape of a girl under the age of 12, abduction of a girl under the age of 12 for sexual intercourse and two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman, which he initially told police was consensual.

The kidnapping charge was dropped and Garae pleaded guilty to one count of rape and two counts of sexual abuse after the court made every effort to ensure justice despite difficult language barriers.

When announcing the verdict, Judge Tony Zohrab said that an aggravating circumstance was the fact that his crime had been indicative of kidnapping.

“You have sacrificed your present and future well-being to satisfy your selfish sexual desires.

“Her selfish behavior had a catastrophic impact on the victim and her family.”

Garae will remain in prison for at least three and a half years.

There’s more to come

Tracy Neal is a Nelson-based Open Justice reporter with NZME. She was previously RNZ’s Nelson-Marlborough regional reporter and covered general news, including courts and local government, for the Nelson Mail.