Woman's 'sense of safety' shattered by man who held her captive, court hears

Warning: This story contains details readers may find distressing.

A woman who endured days of abuse while being held captive by a man in Canberra has spoken about the "psychological and emotional mutilation" she endured.

Sisituutuumata Fulivai, 47, was found guilty earlier this year by an ACT Supreme Court jury of 20 charges, including forcible confinement, rape and assault.

The offending took place at a home in Lyneham in June 2024.

The victim, then 24, managed to escape the property and fled naked and screaming onto the street, where she was found by police.

'You took a machete to my mind and my sense of safety'

In an emotional victim impact statement read to the court during a pre-sentence hearing, the woman described "96 hours of being stripped of [her] dignity and livelihood".

"I was dragged into a void of physical and sexual violence so brutal it has severed my connections to the person I was before," she said.

"You didn't just violate my body, you took a machete to my mind and my sense of safety in this world."

The woman said she had been left with crippling PTSD and panic attacks.

"I endure the flashback of the black void of nothing in your eyes in a nightly nightmare that makes me feel suffocated and trapped like I'm still there,"

she said.

"No person should ever have the chance to meet the monster I did."

The victim's mother also addressed the court, describing how Fulivai's crimes had forced the family to grieve a once "vibrant girl" who was now a shell of her former self.

"You would have showed more mercy killing her," she said.

Offending 'beyond comprehension'

While the victim's mother was speaking, Fulivai tried to interject but was silenced by Justice Belinda Baker.

Prosecutor Nathan Deakes said the offender had showed no remorse, instead blaming the victim and trying to paint her as the aggressor.

"[He was] driven by power, control and sexual jealousy,"

Mr Deakes said.

During the trial, the court heard the pair had previously had consensual sex, but Fulivai later accused the victim of wanting to have sex with one of his friends.

Mr Deakes described how the woman was stripped naked, repeatedly beaten with household objects, and choked, only to regain consciousness while being assaulted.

"To offend against an unconscious woman who cannot defend herself is beyond comprehension," he said.

The victim suffered more than 50 separate injuries during the ordeal.

Victim's mother calls for harshest possible sentence

Defence barrister Christina Muthurajah said Fulivai did not have a criminal history until his life "took a sharp turn" in 2023.

She said he was in a "dark place" after losing his employment, business and home.

In her statement to the court, the victim's mother urged Justice Baker to impose the harshest sentence possible.