Pregnant wife weeps as husband jailed for raping teen

A teenage girl repeatedly cried stop and kicked at a rapist before he muffled her pleas and assaulted her.

Tewuritai Karito, 29, has been jailed for raping a teenage girl.

A teenage girl repeatedly cried "stop" and kicked at a rapist before he muffled her pleas and assaulted her.

Tewuritai Karito, 29, was on Wednesday jailed for the trauma he inflicted on the girl at a Sunshine Coast home last year.

Maroochydore District Court heard Karito's pregnant wife Kursty stood by him since he confessed to her.

She sat in the gallery to hear the details of the attack which began when the victim was asleep on a couch one morning.

Karito whispered in the girl's ear, groped her over her clothes and touched her around her vagina.

The girl told him to stop, elbowed him and fell asleep again.

A second assault later in the morning involved Karito rubbing the girl's vagina while she slept.

"Get off me," she pleaded with Karito when she realised what was happening.

"Stop, don't do this."

The girl shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep in hopes the assault would stop.

She woke a third time to Karito lying next to her, forcing his hand inside her underwear and touching her vagina.

She told him to stop again.

Karito pulled her track pants down as she cried and attempted to kick him away.

"But he inserted two fingers inside her vagina and thrust them in and out," crown prosecutor Christopher Cook told the court.

Karito continued to assault the girl with his fingers as she cried.

"Watch the hallway," Karito told her as he placed his hand over her mouth to muffle her protests.

Mr Cook said Karito then penetrated the girl's vagina with his penis, thrusting three times.

"She kicked him and he removed his penis from her vagina," Mr Cook said.

The girl gathered her clothes from the floor and fled to the bathroom locking the door.

Karito later told her to keep the incident to herself.

Karito on Wednesday pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and one count of rape.

He had three prior entries on his criminal history including an assault occasioning bodily harm at a hotel in Nambour.

The court heard Karito was born in the Cook Islands and was facing deportation as he was in Australia on a temporary visa.

Defence barrister Nathan Turner said Karito was adopted as a child before moving to Australia in 2012 with family.

Mr Turner said the father-of-four boys was a leading hand in his employment as a scaffolder and his employer had agreed hire him after his release from prison.

He tendered a letter from Karito to the court.

"He stated that he is terribly sorry for causing this young woman and her family trauma, emotional pain and grief," Mr Turner said.

"He is ashamed of his unacceptable behaviour.

"He holds himself responsible and 100 per cent accountable and he doesn't make any excuse for alcohol being a contributor but states he doesn't want it a part of his life anymore."

A letter from Mrs Karito described her husband as "selfless and caring" and having an "amazing bond" with his four sons.

"She states that she has been by his side the entire time so she remains a support and lives in the household," Mr Turner said.

He said the family had moved to the Gold Coast since the offences.

Judge Gary Long acknowledged the strong support Karito had from his family and said the 29-year-old had promising prospects of rehabilitation.

"That is, being able to lead a productive life in the community in the future once you have paid your dues in respect of this offending," Judge Long said.

He said the offending was persistent, involved a betrayal of trust and would likely have an ongoing impact on the victim.

Karito's wife wept as her husband was sentenced to six years in jail with parole eligibility after 20 months.

Karito will be eligible for parole on June 7, 2022.

*For 24-hour sexual violence support call the national hotline 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or MensLine on 1800 600 636.   

Originally published as