ACT Supreme Court sentences man to jail for rape, assault

The 28-year-old man, who cannot be named, faced the ACT Supreme Court on Friday after previously pleading guilty to assault, choking, sexual intercourse without consent, and contravening a family violence order.

Justice David Mossop sentenced the man to two years in jail, saying the case arose from "unusual circumstances".

The court heard that on September 1, 2021, an argument broke out between the offender and his female partner. During the argument, the woman went to have a bath and the man took her mobile phone.

An agreed statement of facts shows the offender put a hand around his partner's throat before pushing her forcefully against a bathroom vanity and into the bathtub.

Three months later, the pair argued again. When the woman asked the offender to leave, he refused. She threw his keys on the lawn outside but after retrieving them, he forced himself back inside taking a sliding door off its hinges in the process.

While the woman screamed for help, the offender picked her up over his shoulder and put his hand over her mouth.

He then carried her into the bedroom and shoved her face down on the bed, telling her to "shut up" so no one would call the police.

The man held his hand over the woman's mouth and nose making it difficult for her to breathe.

On the night of January 13, 2022, the woman awoke to find the offender digitally initiating sex.

While initially giving the impression of consent "to avoid a fight", she soon feigned sleep to see if he would stop.

An agreed statement says the woman "thought that if she let him do something like that, she would be able to leave him because it was so serious and he would not be able to manipulate her ".

While she pretended to snore, kept her eyes closed and body limp, the offender began having sex with her.

Midway through, the man said: "open your eyes babe, this is weird", but continued the act.

The next morning, the offender told the woman they didn't have sex, saying he "stopped because it felt like rape".

Defence lawyer Jacob Robertson argued there was an "unusual interaction between the offending and the complainant's state of mind".

"The offending doesn't start until halfway through the sexual act," he said.

"This is a very unusual case."

Prosecutor Rebecca Christensen SC told the court the rape occurred in the context of domestic violence and was not an "isolated incident".

"Whether the victim is submitting or acquiescing, she is not consenting," Ms Christensen said.

"There are unusual features of the offence but it remains the offender had [a reckless] state of mind."

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Ms Christensen said the offender had a series of domestic violence convictions. This included a family violence order the couple "consensually" disregarded.

During sentencing, Justice Mossop said the man's behaviour reflected "a disturbing pattern of conduct in relation to intimate partners and previous intimate partners". He sentenced the offender to two years in jail, with a non-parole period of 14 months. He also fined the rapist $500.

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