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John Hope Muchirahondo was found guilty last year of offending against nine women between 2011 and 2021. Audio
John Hope Muchirahondo, 39, appears for sentencing at Christchurch High Court after being found guilty of a raft of sexual assault charges at a trial last year. Photo: Pool/KAI SCHWOERER
Warning: This story discusses sexual violence.
A prolific sexual predator, who attacked and violated vulnerable and sometimes unconscious women for a decade, will remain behind bars for at least the next ten years.
John Hope Muchirahondo, who was last year found guilty of raping and violating nine women, was this afternoon sentenced to 23 years' imprisonment with a non-parole period of ten years.
His youngest victim was only 15 and ten years younger than Muchirahondo at the time of the offending in 2011.
The 39-year-old Christchurch man sat impassively, faced away, as his victims recounted his attacks and the effect it had on their lives in the High Court at Christchurch on Friday.
"We - that being me and all the ladies you have hurt - have something you will never have. That is courage, dignity and love," one victim said.
Prosecutor Claire Boshier said Muchirahondo was a predator with little regard for his victims, demonstrating his deviance, entitlement and a high-risk of re-offending.
"Muchirahondo is assessed to possess a particular proclivity and predilection for sexual offending, which has not been deterred by his victims' expressions of distress or possible detection by authorities," Boshier said.
"He took advantage of victims in any number of situations that presented to him. It did not matter if a female was in her own home, in a car, or in his home.
"He plied some of the women with alcohol and took advantage of their intoxication. He created other situations in which he was able to get significantly vulnerable women alone so he could offend against them. He raped women while they slept, unconscious from drink or medication.
"To add insult to injury, he filmed the act, with some woman only realising they had been raped or offended against when they were called by police."
Crown prosecutor Claire Boshier speaks during the sentencing of John Hope Muchirahondo, 39, at Christchurch High Court. Muchirahondo has been found guilty of a raft of sexual assault charges at a trial last year. Photo: Pool/KAI SCHWOERER
One victim had her child present in her home when she was violated. Another was unaware Muchirahondo had entered her home, violated her and filmed the act, Boshier said.
"He sexually violated woman in places where they were entitled to feel safe," she said.
"All of the victims were vulnerable in different ways, whether through extreme intoxication, youth, mental health, or that they were asleep or unconscious when the offending commenced, giving them not even an opportunity to try to stop what was happening to them.
"There is immeasurable harm to the victims. This offending has had a profound effect on the lives of many and it will continue to do so."
His victims described the many ways in which Muchirahondo had changed and damaged their lives.
Victim E was only 22 at the time Muchirahondo raped her.
She had to leave New Zealand following the assault and gave up all she owned as a result.
"Ever since that night where Hope raped me, my entire life has changed. Apart from losing all my possessions, I changed completely," her victim impact statement said.
"I was scared of sleeping because I didn't want to have dreams of that night. I had to take pills for anxiety and for sleeping, which I still do to this day. Ever since then, I have never been the same.
"His actions have caused a lifetime of effects on me that will never go away. I have constant fear of what some humans are capable of. I truly doubt you could ever understand the impact you provoked, how much you destroyed.
"Not only did you take everything from me as I have described, but then you attack me in court and make me sit through and listen to a video of you raping me, which I had no knowledge of, and relive the night all over again. Reopening the scars, all the scars and damage that I have worked so hard to repair."
Another woman, Victim D, was raped in her own home while her child was present.
"I've had sleepless nights worrying about not being able to protect my son from you," she said.
"Throughout all of this, your sole goal has been to belittle and humiliate me, and you refused to accept responsibility for the violence you know you've committed. To this day, I struggle with confidence. I struggle with knowing my worth. I struggle with valuing myself.
"I still hear your voice in my head telling me that I'm not good enough. That I'm useless. That I don't deserve better then you were able to give me. That I'm a bad parent."
With her final words, she spoke directly and powerfully to Muchirahondo.
"I am thankful, and I use this pun intentionally, I am thankful that I finally have a hope in hell. May you rot there."
Victim B had been in an abusive on-again-off-again relationship with Muchirahondo for about five years.
She had not been able to be with another man since the abuse ended.
"I never, ever want to be treated like that again or hurt like that again," she said.
"I want to be enough for someone. I want to have a say in our relationship. I want to have control over my body. I want consent to be a big deal. I never want to be lied to or cheated on. I never want to feel less than and, most of all, I want to know I am worthy of this.
"How this will happen, I don't know."
She now understood how Muchirahondo treated her was not normal.
"It was a really horrible feeling, like I had no control over my own body and had no rights over it whatsoever. He was always stronger than me and I could only hold him off for so long. I never in my life want to feel that way again. So avoid any contact with men and have absolutely no sexual desires anymore," she told the court.
"I will never let anyone rape me again; coerce me into sex; make me feel less than; lie to me; cheat on me; make me feel crazy, or treat me these ways ever again. If that means my sexual desires remain turned off and I avoid men, that is the way it has to be to keep myself safe."
John Hope Muchirahondo, 39, appears for sentencing at Christchurch High Court after being found guilty of a raft of sexual assault charges at a trial last year. Photo: Pool/KAI SCHWOERER
Victim I had not even been aware of her sexual violation until police officers contacted her.
"When I saw the evidence that the police had of me, I was traumatised and felt sick," her victim impact statement said.
"It plays on my mind at times.
"I have felt a lot of grief and I am now grieving all the time and everything I lost whilst I was hospitalised and abused in care, all due to this incident.
"This offender has taken away my voice and has caused damage that will never be repaired."
Victim F said Muchirahondo's attack had a devastating impact on her life and she now suffered anxiety and depression.
"I have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and often experience nightmares that bring feelings of shame and humiliation. But I am also tortured during the day and I experience disassociation and painful flashbacks.
"The sexual violence resulted in a destabilisation in my mood and led to more than one stay in hospital. Mr Muchirahondo, in me you took advantage of a vulnerable person to begin with. I feel that your actions made me even more vulnerable. The innocence and trust that I had in people, that I once took for granted, is gone. It is replaced now by a heightened awareness of danger that I feel I cannot escape."
She no longer felt safe in her own bed or home and had to move out from the home where the attack occurred.
Victim H told the court Muchirahondo continued his harm against her during his trial.
"I never deserved to feel victim blamed or shamed by the offender or his defence team," she said.
"As I now know, there were so many similarities in my story and the other women. I know it wasn't just me who was targeted by this predator. It is in my opinion that this person is not able to be rehabilitated in any manner. The fact that he approached me in public after he was released on bail shows his total disregard for the law.
"During his trial, his defence was that everything was consensual. When that was a complete untruth. I believe that he has no understanding of right from wrong, which is very dangerous for the community. For the safety of myself and women all over New Zealand, I believe that he should remain in jail for as long as the courts will allow."
Muchirahondo's lawyer Anselm Williams told the court his client still continued to deny the offending he was convicted of.
He argued preventive detention was neither available nor appropriate as a sentence.
Justice Lisa Preston told Muchirahondo his offending demonstrated a high sense of entitlement and a "near total disregard for a woman's right to consent".
He had tried to prevent police accessing his cellphone.
"Police later found graphic images on that phone and others which you had recorded as trophies, essentially, of some of those sexual assaults," the judge said.
Justice Preston praised his victim's courage in coming forward to police and then in reliving their trauma throughout the trial which followed.
"These young women showed remarkable courage and dignity in a trial which required them to relive their experiences and the harm it caused," she told Muchirahondo.
"It is important to record that there is only one person responsible for this offending - Mr Muchirahondo.
"The verdicts of the jury, as representatives of the community, give a very clear message - nothing these women did justified your offending. They should carry no blame, no shame in respect of your actions towards them."
Justice Lisa Preston looks on during the sentencing of John Hope Muchirahondo, 39, at Christchurch High Court. Muchirahondo has been found guilty of a raft of sexual assault charges at a trial last year. Photo: Pool/KAI SCHWOERER
Jurors deliberated for 10 days before finding Muchirahondo guilty on 11 counts of rape, six of sexual violation and one of not providing access to a cellphone following the two-month High Court trial last year.
Some of the charges were representative, meaning they related to the multiple violations.
He was also found not guilty on eight charges of sexual offending and the jury could not reach a verdict on five others.
Police had also found videos of Muchirahondo engaging in sexual activity with women who could not be identified.
Police said they are pleased to see justice done for the victims after the sentencing on Friday.
"It took enormous strength, courage, and composure to tell your accounts in court where your accuracy, honesty and credibility were challenged," Detective Inspector Nicola Reeves said.
"I hope you feel validated.
"We believe you, we have always believed you, this was never your fault and you are not alone."
Reeves said the bravery of the woman and the strength of their accounts helped inform the Judge's sentence and contributed to the future safety of many women.
"We also hope this case shows anyone else who has been the victim of a sexual assault that there is hope, and there is support available for you," Reeves said.
"Anyone who wants to make a complaint to Police can be assured that you will be treated with the utmost respect and will be listened to.
"We will take all such reports seriously, offer victims the required support, and work to hold offenders to account."
If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.