Before he went to his jail cell, Ian Jarvis paused to touch an elderly relative’s outstretched hand through the perspex at Wollongong courthouse.
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The woman doubled over as the 23-year-old then walked on – his first steps as a convicted rapist.
Jarvis faced Wollongong District Court on Thursday to answer for the events of April 7 last year.
He had spent the night drinking with friends at Wollongong nightspots, before he and some in the group caught the train to Dapto and returned to his Kanahooka home.
Several friends stayed over at his home that night, including a woman who slept beside him in his borrowed shorts and a singlet – a scenario “not unusual” within their platonic relationship, the court heard.
The woman awoke to find Jarvis had removed her boxer shorts and was in the process of raping her.
She told him, “stop, I can’t do this”.
“Are you sure?” he asked, continuing the assault.
“Yes," she said, pushing him away.
The woman was crying as she turned away, took her clothes to the bathroom, got dressed and sent messages for a relative to come and collect her.
Jarvis sent several SMS messages hours later, telling her “I’m soo sorry. IDK what I am thinking or doing.”
“I only just realised what I did,” he wrote. “I am sorry. I am here crying because I know what I did was wrong. I need help and I’m gonna get it. But please don’t say anything, because I need to fix myself up.”
The victim replied: “It was wrong. I was asleep when it first started. It’s more than wrong. I thought you were my friend.”
Jarvis again apologised. “IDK what came onto me. It just happened. I feel like just ending everything because what I did OMG. That’s not me, like WTF. I just want to say I’m really sorry.”
Jarvis was arrested on June 20, 2017.
He told police he had consumed a large amount of alcohol and the drug MDMA and could not remember the encounter.
He initially denied the assault but admitted his guilt at a later stage of court proceedings.
He maintains he cannot remember the assault, a claim rejected by sentencing judge Andrew Haesler.
The judge said the woman could not have known she was going to be assaulted.
“She expected … that the trust that she had in her friend would be respected,” he said.
“Her wishes, her physical integrity, her sexual integrity, were violated by Jarvis’ act.
“She was asleep. She could not consent to sexual intercourse and it must have been obvious that she did not consent to sexual intercourse.”
The offence carries a maximum 14-year jail term, with a standard non-parole period of seven years.
The judge found Jarvis had acted opportunistically (rather than planning the assault) and noted his decision to plead guilty had spared the woman from the ordeal of a trial.
The court heard Jarvis suffered anxiety and depression and was using alcohol to self-medicate. He came to the court with a clean criminal history. He was supported in court by a large number of relatives, including several who wrote letters to the judge, telling of their shock and disbelief at his actions.
Jarvis was ordered to serve two years, seven months’ imprisonment, with a non-parole period of one year, four months.
He will become eligible for parole on March 4, 2020.
Angela Thompson
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Proudly Illawarra Mercury since 2008; these days covering crime and justice issues. UOW alum. Thrilled by the chase and sobered by some of the things I see and hear when I stand still - sometimes in the same day. ang.thompson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
