WARNING: This story contains evidence of a sexual nature which some readers may find upsetting

A seasonal worker from overseas who raped a young schoolgirl in a railway station toilet block has been sentenced to seven years in prison.

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

The girl had been out riding her bike with a friend of the same age when Garae grabbed her and pulled her into the toilet block at the Blenheim railway station where he raped her.

In the Blenheim District Court today supporters and members of the 11-year-old girl’s family cried quietly as her grandmother, who has been the girl’s primary caregiver since she was aged 2.5 years, read a victim impact statement.

“The trauma of this is still so raw,” the victim’s grandmother said as Garae looked on from a video screen from where he is being held in custody.

“I feel like we failed to keep her safe,” she said.

The grandmother said the girl, who was receiving care from a child psychiatrist, felt sad almost all the time, and that the feeling was growing worse - not better.

Crown prosecutor Jackson Webber said it was “an appalling rape of a vulnerable girl”.

He said the effects were significant not only for the victim but also for the community.

“It was so stark - so violent. It was just horrendous offending that set the community on edge because it was so random.”

Garae, then aged 23, had arrived in New Zealand less than six months earlier on a Seasonal Limited Work Visa, according to the summary of facts.

It was a Sunday morning on April 2 last year when Garae was walking along Dillons Point Rd in Blenheim and came upon the two young girls - the victim on her bike and her friend who was on a scooter.

He followed them and approached as they neared the train station on Sinclair St, where he began talking to the victim.

He walked alongside her for about 100m until they reached a public toilet at the train station carpark.

Garae then grabbed the girl by her wrist and pulled her toward the toilet block where the incidents that led to the charges of unlawful sexual connection happened, followed by rape which left the girl physically injured.

The victim was forcibly held down but tried to kick Garae during the attack that lasted for seven minutes before he ran from the scene.

Her grandmother said it still “played in her head like a movie, over and over”, how he put his hand over her mouth, then afterwards, smiled and waved as he ran off.

A concerned member of the public contacted police and Garae was found and arrested an hour later. He claimed “the sex was consensual” before later admitting he “forced the victim to have sex with him”.

The victim’s grandmother said when she and her husband were given the news they went into instant shock, made worse by the medical interventions that followed to gather evidence and for the medical attention required, such were the child’s injuries.

“It hurt so bad that I couldn’t hug her, so as not to disturb any evidence.

“I remember her holding her tummy because it hurt.”

Garae was initially charged with raping a female aged under 12, abduction for sex with a girl aged under 12 and two charges of unlawful sexual connection with a female he initially told the police was consensual.

The charge of abduction was withdrawn and Garae pleaded guilty to a charge of rape and two of sexual violation, following a concerted effort by the court to ensure justice was delivered against challenging language barriers.

At sentencing, Judge Tony Zohrab said an aggravating feature remained that there was an element of abduction in what he had done.

He noted that Garae had in one pre-sentence report described himself as a “proud big uncle” of a niece and nephew, and wondered how he might feel had they suffered the same fate.

“I am sure you would be feeling as angry as the victim’s whānau are today,” Judge Zohrab said.

He said Garae had sacrificed the victim’s present and future well-being to satisfy his “selfish sexual desires”.

“Your selfish behaviour has led to a catastrophic impact on the victim and her family.”

Judge Zohrab said the young friend the victim was with at the time, and her family, had also been greatly affected, and the victim had also suffered a level of bullying by some in the community.

“She says people now treat her differently because of what happened and some people call her mean names, and that really hurts.”

Webber said the most aggravating feature was the vulnerability of the victim who was just aged 11, and the extent and scale of the violence, not only from the rape but the other indignities the child suffered, on the floor of a public toilet block.

Defence lawyer Emma Riddell said Garae had not coped well with being sent to New Zealand on the RSE scheme and his mental health had deteriorated since his incarceration.

She said Garae’s language skills were poor and he had isolated himself once he arrived in Blenheim.

Riddell said that could not be seen as an excuse for what had happened, and suggested it reflected the need for greater pastoral care of overseas workers who came to New Zealand.

Webber said he struggled to see the connection between any lack of support and the defendant’s decision to rape an 11-year-old girl.

Garae will remain in prison for a minimum of three-and-a-half years.

SEXUAL HARM

Where to get help:
If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:
• Call 0800 044 334
• Text 4334
• Email [email protected]
• For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz
Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.

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