A court has heard how two men's "sick and predatory" offending changed a victim's life "overnight".
The pair were sentenced at Auckland District Court today for sexual offences against teens committed about a decade ago.
The men — who were also teenagers at the time of the offending — were both granted permanent name suppression.
The first had pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual connection with a young person. He was sentenced to 11 months home detention.
The second pleaded guilty to one count of sexual connection with a young person and was sentenced to seven months home detention.
Judge John Bergseng described the "absolutely abhorrent way" the victims were treated to the court.
However, he emphasised that neither man had ever been charged with rape in respect of their offending.
"The distinction is an important one," he said. "All I can hope for is that this brings a degree of closure for both of the victims.
"It cannot in any way come close to addressing the harm caused to these two young women."
Charges were laid in 2020.
Judge Bergseng said the offending involved a "definite power imbalance" and "some of the sexual behaviour was particularly degrading", "designed to cause maximum humiliation" and resulting in a "life-altering" impact on the victims.
He acknowledged the pair's guilty pleas but noted they came within days of the trial's scheduled start, though the pleas had been "signalled" earlier. He added that he was not convinced the pair felt "high levels" of "genuine" remorse.
Judge Bergseng also noted a "degree of premeditation" to the offending.
'Serious and depraved'
One victim's impact statement said her "life changed dramatically overnight".
The statement spoke of the difficult environment at school after the incident.
"School felt like hell to me," the statement said. She developed a drug and drinking problem and dropped out.
"I missed out on all of my teenage years," she said, adding that she had attempted suicide.
"I have flashbacks of the incident... I still find it hard to rest some nights.
"This will affect me for the rest of my life."
A second victim's impact statement described the lasting effects of the men's "serious and depraved" offending.
She said that she had suffered flashbacks and night terrors for close to a decade.
The offending left her and her family both "overwhelmingly sad and angry".
"This assault was my first sexual encounter," she said, calling the men's actions "vile" and "disgusting".
She spoke of self-harming "as a coping mechanism", and feeling dehumanised.
"Such is the impact of their sick and predatory behaviour."
The arguments
Ahead of the sentencing, the lawyer for the Crown stressed the victims' vulnerability among potential aggravating factors, as well as the "cruel and degrading elements" of the offending leading to a "huge amount of indignity" and "immense harm".
The Crown submitted that the men showed a lack of remorse.
The defendants' lawyers advanced youth as a key mitigating factor, as both defendants were in their teens at the time.
"All of them were young people, sir," Ron Mansfield KC told the court, adding all were consuming alcohol.
He said the men believed that there was consent at the time, though they accept now that it was not informed consent.
Annabel Cresswell also emphasised her client's youth at the time of the offending.
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