Woman's 'courageous' attempt to fight off attacker praised by ACT judge

A man has been sentenced to five years' jail for sexually assaulting a woman in an underground car park in Canberra's north.

Lal Ro Puia, then aged 30, followed the woman into a hotel car park on Northbourne Avenue in November last year.

He confronted her as she got out of her car, and when she refused requests for money or food and a hug, he grabbed her around the waist.

When she resisted, he pushed her to the ground, attempting to remove her clothing, and pushed her head into the ground three times.

The woman continued to fight back — striking Puia in the head with her keys as he attempted to remove his pants, until he stood up, adjusted his clothing and left the scene.

Puia was arrested and charged with sexual assault in the second degree — a charge laid when an offender assaults someone with the intent to sexually assault them — as well as burglary with intent to cause harm.

Woman's 'courageous' attempt to fight back

In sentencing in the ACT Magistrates Court this week, Justice Andrew Muller took into account an additional charge of committing an act of indecency.

The attack and the woman's attempt to defend herself were captured on CCTV.

"One of its compelling features is the courageous attempts of [the woman] to resist and fight off her attacker where opportunity presented to do so,"

Justice Muller said.

In the woman's victim impact statement, she spoke of her shock, fear and hopelessness, and said as the attack became increasingly violent she feared for her life. 

The court heard Puia had a long history of mental illness, homelessness and substance abuse issues.

Prosecutors argued the strength of the case against Puia meant he should receive no significant discount to the sentence for his guilty plea.

But Puia's defence argued there was no DNA evidence, and though the CCTV footage was fairly clear, he had not been known to the woman and the case relied on identification evidence.

They also pointed to his mental health issues as warranting scrutiny of a possible mental impairment defence.

Puia to spend at least two years behind bars

The judge was not satisfied the case against Puia was overwhelming, noting that at the time of his pleas a psychologist's report was not yet available and Puia knew he had been found unfit to plead due to mental impairment in a prior court matter in Victoria.

Puia was given a 25 per cent discount for the guilty plea and sentenced to five years' imprisonment, with a non-parole period of two years and nine months.

"I consider this to be an appropriate matter in which to provide for a lengthy period of supervision in the community,"

Justice Muller said.

"I believe that offers the most likely path for Mr Puia to reach a point where he no longer presents as a threat to women.

"Although improvement may occur as a consequence of regular medication and denial of access to illicit substances, those changes do not necessarily reflect remission of the underlying illness or improved capacity to manage the illness in the outside world."