Kaibaua Toom pleads guilty to sexual assault on Hayman Island

A young woman has told of her ongoing nightmares after a work colleague crept through a broken sliding door into her room on a luxury island in the Whitsundays and sexually assaulted her as she slept.

The assault occurred while the man and woman were both working on Hayman Island.

A young woman has been haunted by ongoing “nightmares” of her time on a luxury Whitsunday island after a worker crept into her room and sexually assaulted her as she slept.

“Every night when I’m getting ready for bed I have to remind myself that my attacker won’t be able to hurt me again,” she told him in her emotional victim impact statement.

“If I don’t tell myself that I simply cannot fall asleep at night.”

The terrifying incident occurred a few years ago when the pair were both working on Hayman Island.

Mackay District Court heard they had initially met at a staff bar and shared a kiss.

The pair had been working on Hayman Island when the sexual assault occurred.

But she later found out Kaibaua Toom, who was working as a landscaper, was a married father of four and shut down any advances.

Months later she had been sleeping in her room when Toom crept in through a faulty sliding door.

Crown prosecutor Caitlin Penfold told the court the victim woke to him in her bed assaulting her.

“She told him to leave or she would start screaming … (he) apologised and asked her not to tell anyone,” Ms Penfold said.

The court heard he later told police he had initially thought it was his room, that the victim “was surprised”, he apologised and left.

“He denied sexually offending (her),” Ms Penfold said.

“The sentence proceeds on the basis that he entered her room mistakenly, however, once inside he recognised her from her previous interactions and he offended against her.”

The woman told Toom “the experience of the island life was tarnished”.

A sex assault victim said she was haunted by nightmares about her attacker creeping into her room as she slept.

“The Whitsundays always will now be the place I was assaulted,” she said.

“I’m afraid of being in my house alone.

“I cannot sleep most nights without nightmares about my attacker.”

As she was delivering her victim impact statement, a person had to be warned after illegally filming her in court.

“I’m told that someone in the public gallery may be filming in the courtroom – it is an offence, maybe it should stop,” Judge Michael Byrne said.

Toom, 34, pleaded guilty via an interpreter to sexual assault.

The court heard Toom, who is from Kiribati in Oceania, had been in Australia on a working visa and since his arrest remained in the country on a criminal justice visa.

He would be deported once this matter was finalised.

Ms Penfold pushed for 18 months jail with some actual time served.

Barrister Julie Marsden, for Toom, said she did not dispute the 18 months but argued for a wholly suspended jail term given his deportation and “on the basis it is ultimately a plea of guilty”.

“He has significant shame and sadness as a result of these offences,” Ms Marsden said, also adding the touching was “limited to low level touching”.

“In my submission he is genuinely remorseful.”

The matter had backflipped between a guilty plea and a trial to start on Friday with a jury panel called and five crown witnesses lined up.

Toom apologised to the court and the judge citing that he did not understand the legal system.

“I accept that the guilty plea, although late in the day, has had the benefit of providing the victim with the assured vindication of her position and the public recognition of the wrongfulness of your conduct,” Judge Byrne said.

“She was in no way to blame.

“I take note of the fact that you used no force or violence against the victim.

Ultimately Judge Byrne determined Toom should spend some time behind bars, jailing him for 18 months to be suspended after serving two months.

Convictions were recorded.