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Offender Databases Donelle Herewini

Donelle Ida Herewini

Alias

.

Offences

Sexual violation of a Hamilton woman by unlawful sexual connection in May 2002

Victims

.

Offender Affiliations

.

Gang affiliations

none known

Age

Born 1967

Current Location

unknown

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to three years six months in May 2004
Unsuccessfully appealed conviction in November 2004

Background
From the Waikato Times 12th May 2004
A judge has told a North Waikato community that a woman who was sexually assaulted by another woman deserves sympathy. Donelle Ida Herewini, 37, was jailed for 3-and-a-half years in Hamilton District Court yesterday after a jury earlier found her guilty of sexual violation of the woman. She was found not guilty of assaulting the woman by biting her ear. Judge Neil MacLean said it was clear that after a night drinking and smoking cannabis on May 25, 2002, Herewini climbed on top of the woman, forcing down the blankets and used her fingers to sexually violate her.

Judge MacLean said it had been hard for Herewini, a mother of six, and her family and friends to accept the verdict, and they had made life difficult for the victim. "It's unfortunate elements in the community are disbelieving," he said. "This is a lady, a victim, who deserves recognition of what she's been through . . . the prisoner is to blame, not the complainant," he said. Crown prosecutor Jacinda Foster sought a jail sentence of four to five years.

She said the victim had suffered more embarrassment and humiliation because the offender was a woman and had been reluctant to come forward, fearing she wouldn't be believed. Passing sentence, Judge MacLean weighed the aggravating factors of the case which included the use of violence and breaching the trust of a woman who was in a vulnerable position, against the only mitigating factor -- Herewini's good character. Herewini's lawyer, Patrick O'Sullivan, provided the court with references which testified to his client as someone who pulled her weight in the community, helped people and had brought her children up despite major difficulties.

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Corrections and Additional Information
We endeavour to make this database as accurate as possible, but we are at the mercy of whatever information we can find in various online and offline archives. We rely on the public - that is, people like you - to fill in the gaps that we cannot. If you wish to submit additional information or a correction to this file CLICK HERE . Privacy: Trust policy is that all sources are treated as strictly confidential unless we are explicitly told otherwise. If you wish to see a file removed from this database certain conditions must be met by the offender set out HERE Note that this does NOT apply for those that are the primary offender in a murder, rape, or any sexual offending involving minors. We do not enter into correspondence regarding the guilt/innocence of offenders. Such correspondence is not responded to, especially if the offender concerned has a number of prior convictions

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