Woman robbed of dignity

Press, 19 July 1989, Page 21

Woman robbed of dignity

PA Wellington An elderly woman was robbed of dignity and independence in her twilight years by a man who raped and robbed her, a High Court judge in Wellington said yesterday. Until the attack in her own home the woman had successfully lived alone, Mr Justice Jeffries said. He jailed Bill Makavalu, aged 20, for eight years on a charge of rape and a concurrent two-year term for burglary. Makavalu had pleaded guilty to the charges which arose out of an incident at Petone on January 12. Mr Justice Jeffries said that until the crime, the woman, aged 85, was able to care for herself and had never been afraid of living alone. Now she needed around-the-clock

companionship and her sleep was broken by reliving the ghastly experience at Makavalu’s hands. As the victim impact report stated, “For a lady who is in her twilight years it is a tragic finale to her life,” Mr Justice Jeffries said. It was beyond the comprehension of most people why a young man aged 20 would rape an old woman. Defence counsel, Pat Grace, said Makavalu came from a deprived background, had poor communication skills and an inability to cope with the pressures placed on him by society. The offence had started as a burglary rather than his setting out to deliberately rape. More court, pages 25, 26