A man has been jailed for attacking and robbing an elderly woman last year and then kidnapping, raping and robbing her again in January.
Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Kally Joseph Taylor, 39, was sentenced to a minimum of ten years in the Palmerston North High Court today.
His 71-year-old victim was out in her garden on 13 October 2017 when Taylor held her at knifepoint, bound her with her scarves and then stole her car.
He then returned on 5 January while she slept, breaking in by smashing a window.
The court heard Taylor stood at the foot of her bed and said, "I told you I would come back," and said he had killed someone and was wearing their clothes.
He raped her, forced her to shower with him, attempted to rape her again and then forced her to perform oral sex.
Taylor then used a filleting knife to cut out segments of carpet that he had bled on from cuts sustained by entering through the window.
He drove with the woman to an ATM, withdrew money and then left her there.
The victim's impact statement said she was haunted by Taylor's image and was startled by anyone who looked like him.
She said her "dignity and peace of mind in her own home" were stolen and the second attack was her "worst nightmare coming true".
She now lived in a state of "hyper-vigilance" and had barred the windows on her house.
The victim's dog had also died since her attacks.
"My dog was my constant companion throughout this whole nightmare and to lose him and be truly alone in my home now is breaking my heart."
Taylor had 33 previous convictions, including indecent assault and burglary.
His mother told the court she drank throughout her pregnancy with him and said his father was violent.
She said Taylor inhaled glue at aged 5, sniffed petrol from 6 and started drinking and smoking cannabis from 8 years old.
Taylor also consumed methamphetamine.
During the hearing a doctor explained there was no basis to conclude mental illness had played a role in the offending.
The judge told the court despite letters from Taylor expressing remorse for his actions, he posed a serious risk to vulnerable elderly women and they needed to be protected from him.
He was sentenced to preventive detention on the charge of rape, two charges of kidnapping and the one charge of unlawful sexual connection.
The judge said the victim's impact statement highlighted her courage and grace, and she was a remarkable woman.
