• Solomona Te Fono was sentenced to two years and three months in prison for assaulting a masseuse.
• Te Fono attacked the woman in a Nelson motel after she refused to refund him.
• Judge Jo Rielly described the assault as “sustained and gratuitous” over money and unmet demands.

A masseuse attacked by a man after she refused to give him a refund said the “furious and violent” assault in a motel room late one night had altered her life in ways she could never have imagined.

Taupō-based former deep-sea fisherman Solomona Te Fono was 19 at the time and his victim was a woman in her 60s.

Now, on the brink of turning 21, Te Fono has gone to prison for two years and three months.

He hung his head throughout sentencing in the Nelson District Court today on charges that arose from the assault in a Nelson motel room in September 2023, including threatening to kill, injuring with intent and robbery.

Judge Jo Rielly described it as a “sustained and gratuitous attack” over some money and his victim not doing what Te Fono wanted her to do.

He claimed to have little recall of what happened.

Judge Rielly was concerned that his probation report noted his continued “staunch attitude” which defence lawyer Ian Miller described as “bluster” fairly typical of young men such as Te Fono.

The victim who has since left New Zealand and returned to her home country said the “furious and violent” assault had left her traumatised, feeling helpless and distraught.

Assault in a motel

On September 6, 2023, Te Fono was 45 minutes into an hour-long massage when he decided it wasn’t for him and wanted a refund.

When the masseuse said no, Te Fono attacked her by punching her around the head and face before threatening to kill her in the motel room for which he’d paid $600, massage included.

The police summary of facts said Te Fono had been drinking in a central Nelson bar when he phoned the masseuse just after 2am and organised to meet for a massage. He got the woman’s phone number off a website where she had advertised her service.

Around 40 minutes later, he arrived at the room where the pair agreed on the terms of the hour-long massage, after which Te Fono would be allowed to stay in her room until 7am.

Te Fono gave her $200 cash and transferred $400 to her bank account.

After 45 minutes he asked for a refund, and when told that was not part of the deal, Te Fono began yelling at her.

As he approached a drawer where the masseuse kept about $1200 cash, she grabbed the money and put it in her pocket.

She refused to hand it over and Te Fono began to beat her, using both hands to punch her in the face and head multiple times, with closed fists.

She yelled for help and tried to cover her head with her hands as Te Fono punched her heavily, hitting her in the head and on her hands.

He then put his hands around the woman’s neck, prompting her to claw at his hands.

Te Fono released his grip on her; she took the money from her pocket and handed it over.

He then pushed the woman into the motel room bathroom and told her to stay there as he shut the door. As he was leaving, he noticed the woman had peeked through the door to check he had gone.

Te Fono returned to the bathroom, pushed her back in and told her he would kill her if she stepped out.

She believed him so she remained in the bathroom and called the motel manager for help, as Te Fono ran from the premises with her money.

The woman, who had bruising and swelling all over her face, head and hand, plus abrasions and red marks around her neck, was taken to hospital and treated for her injuries.

She suffered headaches for several days and experienced sensitivity to sound, which the police said were common symptoms of concussion.

She claimed to have suffered significant damage to her teeth which cost thousands of dollars to repair, but police were unable to verify the claims and therefore no reparation order was possible.

Drinking and driving

Te Fono was also sentenced today on a drink-drive charge in Taupō while he was on bail awaiting sentence on the violence matters.

On the night of December 4 Te Fono had been drinking with a friend and was on his way to takeaway outlet Popeyes Chicken when he thought it might be “cool” to drift his vehicle by putting on the handbrake while driving at speed.

He lost control of the car, crashed into a fence and then ran from the scene, but was found later to have been driving over the limit with a reading of 531 micrograms of alcohol per litre of breath.

Judge Rielly was concerned that he seemed to have little understanding of the seriousness of what he had done, and despite claiming he was “disgusted and ashamed” of his behaviour, that was likely because of the situation in which he had found himself.

From a starting point of three years and six months in prison, Te Fono was given credits for his guilty pleas, his youth and in recognition of his offer to pay back the $1200 he had taken to arrive at a prison term of two years and three months.

A release date will be set by the Parole Board.

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.