Dunedin Court Sentences Repeat Offender to Preventive Detention for Sexual Crimes

A man with 'psychopathic traits' is facing a rare open-ended jail sentence after pleading guilty to charges of sexual assault.

New Zealand's High Court at Dunedin sentenced Keith Wicks-Cairns, 37, to preventive detention after pleading to burglary and two counts of sexual violation, which consist of rape and unlawful sexual connection. Justice Melanie Harland said Wicks-Cairns will be eligible for parole after serving seven years and three months in prison.

The victim, who remained unnamed, told the court that she's been living in 'constant fear' 13 months after the attack. Per court records obtained by the Otago Daily Times, she was assaulted past midnight on 4 February inside her Dunedin flat.

CCTV Spots Defendant Before the Assault

Wicks-Cairns had been driving around North Dunedin's student sector in the early hours before the incident. After parking on Queen St., he proceeded on foot towards Cosy Dell Road. CCTV captured footage of him wearing a beanie, dark clothing and red shoes, approaching the victim's home.

Upon breaching the flat on the building's top floor, Wicks-Cairns quickly subdued the sleeping victim by covering her mouth and forcing her head into a pillow. The victim screamed and struggled, forcing Wick-Cairns to tie her wrists as he leaned his knee against her back.

'No one is going to hear you,' Wicks-Cairns said, according to court records. He proceeded to assault the victim, all the while telling her to just 'enjoy it.' He then made the victim wash her hands in the kitchen before he left the flat.

He told the victim to stay silent, or else he would come back. CCTV caught the defendant 20 minutes later, leaving the premises with the victim's bedsheet.

Defendant Has a History of Premeditated Sexual Assaults

A clinician testified that the defendant had 'reached the point of no return' after breaking into the flat. Justice Harland said he actually had multiple opportunities to stop and turn back. He was also previously convicted of sexual assault.

In 2013, Wicks-Cairns was sentenced to four years and ten months in prison for sexually assaulting two minors in separate incidents. Three weeks after the first victim's mother told him she would report him to the police, the defendant assaulted the second victim.

Crown prosecutor Richard Smith said the defendant violated the two minors while they were sleeping. Wicks-Cairns also admitted that he 'groomed their mothers' to gain access to the victims.

Defendant Wants to Go to Jail to 'Deal with the Demons'

After the sentencing, the defendant told the court that he's looking forward to his rehabilitation. 'I know prison is where I deserve to be until I've dealt with the demons inside . . . I'm right where I need to be to ensure the safety of others,' he stated.

The prosecution argued that the defendant failed in his previous opportunities for reform, but counsel Joshua Grainger argued that he is not 'beyond rehabilitation.'

Justice Harland noted Wicks-Cairns' troubled childhood, which includes exposure to drugs and alcohol at 12.

Wicks-Cairn's victim said she's determined to rebuild herself. 'I want the defendant to know, I won't let his cowardly actions dictate my life,' she told the court.