Sadistic sexual predator who degraded victims avoids sentence of preventive detention

Warning: This story involves sexual assault and may be distressing.

A depraved sex predator who physically and psychologically demeaned his vulnerable victims avoided indefinite jail time but was told his future was in his hands.

David Falamoe appeared in the High Court in Wellington on Friday as Judge Francis Cooke handed down sentence on a series of sex charges.

Falamoe’s crimes took place in the Whanganui area over five years and involved five victims, including two children aged six and 10, an adult woman with mental health problems, a vulnerable Teenager who punched her in the stomach and a gender fluid man when she claimed she was pregnant, a court heard.

After two High Court trials in June and November 2022, the 41-year-old was found guilty by juries of multiple charges and only avoided trial a third time by pleading guilty to indecent assault, in his The second trial is over.

At one point, Falamoe belittled his victim by forcing her to engage his dog in a sexual act, but the dog only licked her ankle.

Judge Cook said Faramore was an intelligent and manipulative individual whose offending involved a common theme of approaching victims before using physical violence and psychological pressure, including threats of self-harm, to get them to agree to downplay sexual abuse .

“You are a sexual predator and will use every means at your disposal to get whatever you want,” he told Falamoe.

He paid tribute to the courage of the victims in coming forward.

Whanganui prosecutor Michele Wilkinson-Smith argued the sentence of preventive detention was justified not to punish Falamoe but to protect the community from ongoing harm.

Wilkinson-Smith said Faramore, who had 65 previous convictions29 mostly for intimate partner violence, showed no remorse for his actions or awareness of the harm he had caused.

She said the life sentence would allow flexibility to protect the public from Falamoe in the future if treatment options are ineffective.

“If he progresses, he can be released.

“If he fails, he goes back to prison.”

Defense barrister John Gwilliam said preventive detention was inappropriate for Falamoe, who suffered personal trauma, witnessed his father die in front of his eyes, suffered from a personality disorder and drug addiction issues.

Gwilliam said Falamoe had shown he could control himself, stopped some of his abusive attacks due to protests from victims, and should be suspected.

He believes a starting point of 12 years’ imprisonment is appropriate and does not require a minimum non-parole period.

As the hearing progressed, the court’s victim advisors read out victim impact statements detailing how they were disgusted by Falamoe’s actions, which they said were a breach of trust.

“I feel like I’ve let my daughter down,” said the mother of one of the young girls.

“I’m very guilty, I should be able to protect her.”

Others detailed memories, anxiety, turning to alcohol to cope, and feeling angry, disgusted, upset and dirty about what they suffered at the hands of Falamoe.

“He was a sick and evil man and he destroyed a part of me that I can never get back,” one said.

One victim said for a long time she felt too embarrassed to confide in her family how Falamoe described her as an ape and tried to get her to have sex with his dog, but when she finally When she opened up, she was relieved to receive hugs and support from them.

“Who’s the ape now? I’m not the one to be locked up,” reads her victim impact statement.

Judge Cook detailed how a 16-year-old victim, who had been abused in a state care facility, gave up resistance and simply froze when she allowed Falamoe to rape her.

When the teen told Falamoe she believed she was pregnant, he punched her in the stomach, leading her to suspect a miscarriage.

Aggravating factors include the significant harm Falamoe inflicted on his victims, their vulnerability, and the utter lack of remorse he displayed.

Judge Cook said that while Falamoe’s offending had a pattern for his own sexual gratification and he was currently at a higher-than-average risk of re-offending, the threshold for preventive detention had not yet been met.

Falamoe has access to a treatment program that would reduce his risk of reoffending and allow him to be released safely at the end of his limited sentence, but his future is in his own hands, he said.

Judge Cook warned that Faramo was sentenced to a total of 13 years in prison, with a minimum non-parole period of five years and six months, but that he could serve the full term if the underlying issues were not addressed.

“If you do nothing, then this is the reality you face.”

Falamoe will also automatically be placed on the sex offender register.