A man has been sent to prison for rape after he removed a condom without consent during sex, in a first-of-its-kind conviction. A Wellington man has been sent to jail in what’s believed to be the first conviction for rape in New Zealand after he removed a condom during sex without the woman’s consent. Jessie Campos, 48, was sentenced to three years and nine months after he “stealthed” a woman in 2018. In her victim impact statement, the woman said the offending had changed her worldview, and she rarely leaves home alone.
Wellington District Court judge Stephen Harrop told the courtroom the man raped the sex worker in a Lower Hutt brothel in late 2018. Today, the woman said she had to leave the industry because of the offending and even struggles to undress in front of her partner of two years. In the summary of facts, Judge Harrop told the court Campos was made aware that a condom was legally required during the sexual contact at the start of the one-hour session and multiple times throughout.
Judge Harrop said Campos questioned this but agreed to proceed with a condom. They then had consensual sex with protection, but later they had sex again, during which he removed the condom. The worker saw him do this, and she emphasized that he acted inappropriately, wagged her finger, and made him put one back on, which he did. However, he then removed the condom again and ejaculated in her.
RELATED: Tough conversations parents need to have with their sons
RELATED: Disturbing ‘sex trend’ that could become illegal in Australia
Immediately, the judge said she ran to her manager’s room, and the police were called.
Wellington District Crime Squad manager detective senior sergeant Haley Ryan told the NZ Herald last week it was the country’s first known conviction for this type of offending.
The defense argued there was no premeditation and a cultural report on the man from the Philippines was directly relevant to the sentencing.
Campos has been in the country since 2016.
Judge Harrop disagreed, stating there was an element of premeditation to the case as he was told multiple times a condom was necessary and that sex workers were no less victims than any other survivor.
“I can’t proceed on the basis that raping sex workers is any more acceptable (in the Philippines) than here,” he said.
In sentencing, the judge said the assault had risked the woman’s health and caused her pervasive mental harm, which she still suffers from.
Judge Harrop said Campos sends money to his family in the Philippines, and his employer wrote a letter stating he had been a good worker.
With no prior offending, the judge said the assault was out of character for the man, who would likely be deported once the sentence is complete.
Victoria University of Wellington’s Dr. Samantha Keene told the NZ Herald a conviction for the non-consensual removal of a condom during sex recognizes that consent to sex with someone who is wearing a condom at the time it begins does not mean the backing remains when it is removed.
