Warning: This article discusses rape and sexual assault

Fugitive rapist Lee Richard Josey has been handed a 15-year jail sentence for raping two vulnerable teenage girls and fleeing the country before his trial.

The 45-year-old Bay of Plenty truck driver, who had lived in Taupō and Tauranga, was sentenced last Friday by Judge Greg Hollister-Jones in the Rotorua District Court.

It was the final step in a prolonged case delayed four years by the Covid-19 pandemic then a manhunt after Josey skipped New Zealand for Australia in the months leading up to his trial.

In an unusual move, his trial went ahead in January without Josey. He was found guilty and later extradited to New Zealand for sentencing after being found in Australia.

Police have previously acknowledged there were missed opportunities to potentially stop him from getting a passport on bail and skipping the country undetected weeks before his trial.

Josey’s victims and their families finally got to see him in the dock last month.

One victim’s mother stood facing him 2m away as she read her victim impact statement.

“You raped my daughter, you destroyed my daughter … You took her innocence and for that, I will never forgive you, ever,” she told him.

She said what he did to their family was “horrifying”. She ended her statement and as she walked past Josey, she said: “I hope you rot”.

Victim had to drop out of school

Josey was convicted on four charges relating to one girl – rape, committing an indecent act and two of indecent assault. For those offences, Judge Hollister-Jones jailed him for seven years.

The judge said Josey raped the first victim when he was 38.

Josey asked the teen to go for a walk saying he needed to talk to her.

He started to kiss her and held her arms down in a hug as she struggled. After she fell backwards and hit her head on a rock, he raped her. Throughout her ordeal, she repeatedly told him to stop. She eventually managed to get away from him.

A few months later, he saw the teen again and indecently assaulted her, and on another occasion, she saw him doing an indecent act.

Her victim impact statement was read to the court by Crown prosecutor Kris Bucher. The teen said the rape altered her life in ways he could never imagine, including lasting mental health damage.

It had “impacted my dreams of becoming something more than what I am. My relationships with friends and family have suffered greatly as I struggle to reconnect and communicate my feelings”.

“The fear and trauma I have experienced make it difficult to envisage a future where I can fully recover and regain my sense of balance and routine in my life.”

Mum slates ‘evil, despicable actions’

Regarding the second teen, Josey was convicted of four counts of rape and one of committing sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection.

Judge Hollister-Jones jailed him for eight years on the rape charges, to be served cumulatively with the seven-year sentence.

The teenager had asked Josey for a lift.

Josey raped her four times over two days.

Rotorua Courthouse. Photo / Andrew Warner

The victim, supported by her mother, read her victim impact statement in court.

She said she used to be a high achiever at school but that had changed since she was raped.

In trying to repress what happened, she turned to alcohol and smoking drugs.

She suffered suicidal thoughts, anxiety and panic attacks.

Her mother told the court they had helplessly watched their daughter change.

“She aimed to make us proud parents and we always were … Her anxiety gets so bad she can’t deal with speaking on some days and spends days – even weeks – in her room. As her whānau, this is so heartbreaking to go through with her.”

She said they prayed they could help her out of her darkness.

“As for Lee Josey, he needs to be held accountable for his evil, despicable actions on innocent young girls, as our daughter isn’t the only poor soul he has destroyed.”

The sentencing

Judge Hollister-Jones said comments to a pre-sentence report writer showed Josey still did not accept his actions and continued to victim-blame.

He said the charge of breaching bail by going to Australia was the most serious breach he had dealt with, and he must impose the maximum prison sentence of six months.

He gave an overall starting point of 22 years in prison.

He reduced the sentence to 15 years considering “totality”, a law principle that applies when a court imposes multiple sentences.

He said he took into account the seriousness of the offending, breaches of trust and “high degree of harm” to two vulnerable teenagers.

Judge Hollister-Jones said there were no mitigating factors, dismissing a plea by defence lawyer, Richard Keam, to reduce his sentence given Josey’s daughter died this year and he had an autistic son.

Sexual Harm: Where to get help

If it’s an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

If you’ve ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:

• Call 0800 044 334
• Text 4334
• Email support@safetotalk.nz

For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz.

Alternatively, contact your local police station. If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it’s not your fault.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.

-Bay of Plenty Times