Man jailed for attempted rape of woman in own home before work

A man who burst into a Palmerston woman’s home and attempted to violently rape her as she was getting ready for work has been jailed for 18 months.

A MAN who burst into a Palmerston woman’s home and attempted to violently rape her as she was getting ready for work has been jailed for 18 months.

Bilroy Marika, 24, pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court to unlawful entry, aggravated assault and attempted rape following the terrifying home invasion on November 20 last year.

The court heard Marika walked into the woman’s front yard at about 5.15am and began watching her through the window as she prepared to get dressed for work.

Sentencing judge Peter Barr said Marika then burst through the back sliding door, knocking it off its tracks in the process.

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“You are a heavy man, big and obese, and your action knocking the sliding door off its tracks must have caused the victim a considerable shock,” he said.

“Having run through the door, you tackled the victim, who was still naked, grabbing her in a bear hug and carried her backwards, approximately 10 metres.

“You threw her on the mattress, where she landed on her back. You then jumped on top of her, using your body weight to pin her to the mattress.”

With the woman now “screaming out in fear”, Marika straddled her and punched her in the face in and attempt to “subdue the victim”.

However, the woman fought back and Marika eventually got off her and ran away before being arrested later that day and telling police “I did something stupid”.

In handing Marika a three year and six months prison sentence, suspended after 18 months, Justice Barr said he had “violated the safety and security of (the woman’s) home”.

“What you did on 20 November last year was a very frightening attack, sexually motivated, on a woman who was at home alone,” he said.

“The aggravated assault charged as count 2 was very clearly an assault intended to subdue the victim and facilitate you having sexual intercourse without her consent.

“That assault is therefore an integral part of the attempt by you, a violent attempt, to have sexual intercourse with the victim without her consent.”

Marika will be subject to strict conditions for two years after his release including undergoing sex offender treatment.

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