Warning: This story includes details of sexual assault and may be distressing.

Sarah Matthews* didn’t want anyone else to be hurt by Richard Wisnewski, so she went to the police and told them how he raped her and called her a “little bitch” as she cried out in pain and asked him to stop.

She also told them about other acts of violence, including that he’d rugby-tackled her and pulled out her hair, threatened to snap her neck, given her black eyes, and smothered her when she tried to call for help.

Wisnewski was charged, and released on bail. Then he went on to rape a second woman.

The second woman thought she was going to die during a four-hour ordeal where Wisnewski raped her twice in his deadbolted home.

“It broke me the day I found out he’d done the same thing to someone else,” Matthews told NZME. “I had tried to prevent it from happening, but once again I felt powerless.”

This week, however, the power shifted, as Wisnewski was sentenced at the Tauranga District Court to imprisonment for the “frankly horrific” harm he caused the two women. He was found guilty of 25 charges following a jury trial last year.

Richard Wisnewski was sentenced in the Tauranga District Court for rapes and violence towards two women known to him.

Matthews, in her victim impact statement, told the court that while it had been a while since the attack, the “pain and memories remain”.

“[They remind] me of the torture he put me through,” she said.

“Him screaming the words, ‘this is what you like isn’t it, being raped', is a voice that comes back to me and sends a shiver down my spine.”

She was made to believe his abuse was her fault, and that she deserved “every blow” to her body.

She had spent years trying to heal and regain a sense of “peace and safety”.

She had gone to the police in the hope he would “learn his lesson” and “never hurt another woman again”.

“But that hope failed me,” she said.

‘I thought I was going to die’

The second woman’s ordeal occurred some time after the first victim had reported the offending to the police, and while the first matters were progressing through court.

Jane Hall* had been with Wisnewski and another person at his home, hanging out in his garage.

After the other person left, Wisnewski and Hall had an argument and she tried to leave, but he grabbed her and pushed her to the floor as she struggled to get away.

He covered her mouth and nose with his hands and pushed down.

She thought she was going to vomit at one point, but managed to break free and run, but Wisnewski caught up to her.

He pushed her face into the couch, before taking her into the main house.

Eventually, she saw a chance to escape when he was in the bathroom and made a dash for the door but found it was deadbolted. He caught her, and “rag-dolled” her on to the bed by grabbing her hair, where he covered her mouth and nose so she couldn’t breathe or call for help.

After several hours of trying to escape, Hall was cold and tired.

Then she was raped. Twice.

He also performed other sexual acts on her.

After the assaults were over, his demeanour changed and she said he became “nurturing”. Four hours after the assaults began, she was free to leave.

She went straight to the police station.

Speaking after the sentencing, Hall told NZME she spent the ordeal wondering how she was going to get away.

“I was so tired and suffocated, I thought I was going to die. I just stared at the wall while he raped me and I was just thinking about my children ... all I could think about was my children and will I ever see them again,” she said.

In her victim impact statement read in court, Hall said she didn’t understand how Wisnewski could sleep knowing what he’d done to her.

“The day you decided to put your hands on me is the day you decided your own fate,” she said.

“You can try and blame others, and lie to people all you like, but I know you are an awful person with a switch inside you...”

She said he continued to lie, manipulate people, and seemed to have an “absolute disregard towards rehabilitating himself from [his] hideous behaviour”.

“I’ll never forget the pure evil look in your eyes as you put your hands repeatedly over my nose and mouth,” she said.

‘The public facade’

The Tauranga man denies all the offending and had several family members and supporters at his sentencing.

Some family members were shaking their heads, as was Wisnewski, as the details of the offending were read by the judge.

Richard Wisnewski was sentenced in the Tauranga District Court to 11 years and six months in prison.

The 35-year-old appeared to hold a family photo as he sat in the dock, and his mother asked to address the court to read her own impact statement.

However, Judge David Cameron denied that request, stating the court had received enough material in support of Wisnewski.

The Crown had earlier referred to the many letters of support submitted on Wisnewski’s behalf.

“The letters highlight the sad reality of the fact that what someone does behind closed doors is very often different to the public facade they put on,” prosecutor Daniel Coulson said.

Judge Cameron referred to the “quite frankly horrific detail” of the impact on the victims.

“It is very considerable indeed and is lasting harm, and that is a significant factor which I take into account,” he said.

A pre-sentence report said Wisnewski was assessed as being at a medium risk of reoffending, and had no remorse for his victims, given his continued denials.

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The offending itself involved victim vulnerability, given Wisnewski was “bigger and stronger” than the victims.

Judge Cameron adopted an overall starting point of 12 years.

Wisnewski was given a 5% discount for a “tenuous” connection between his background, which included drug and alcohol consumption and learning challenges, and the offending.

There were no discounts for remorse; nor was there a discount for good character as Wisnewski had two previous assault convictions.

“Despite the various letters of support written on behalf of the defendant indicating he may be a person of otherwise good character, there will be no discount for his submitted good character. He committed serious violent and sexual offences against two victims ... ” Judge Cameron said.

Wisnewski was given a two-month discount for the time spent on electronically monitored bail but a six-month uplift for the offending against Hall, which happened while he was on ordinary bail.

He received an end sentence of 11 years and six months imprisonment.

A statement from police said the officers in charge of the case, Detective Constables Shane McCarthy and Joel Potaka, were pleased to see Wisnewski held to account for his “horrific offending”.

“While this does not undo the trauma and pain his survivors experience through everyday life, we hope this result assists in their recovery and brings some solace to them and their families,” the statement said.

“We understand how hard it can be for victims of sexual assault to speak out and we would like to acknowledge the strength of these two survivors who reported the incidents to Police.”

*Names have been changed to protect their identities.

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.

Hannah Bartlett is a Tauranga-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. She previously covered court and local government for the Nelson Mail, and before that was a radio reporter at Newstalk ZB.