Viliami Taumoepenu has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after admitting to breaking into a woman’s home and indecently assaulting her.
The offending occurred on July 19, 2025, when Taumoepenu entered the complainant’s home as a trespasser.
He also indecently assaulted her by touching her without consent.
The court described the conduct as a serious violation of the victim’s safety in her own home and noted that she had previously regarded the defendant as a brother.
Taumoepenu pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and cooperated with police, which resulted in a reduction of the overall sentence.
Lord Chief Justice Bishop KC considered his personal background and acknowledged that he had faced difficulties, including leaving school early and being influenced by his peers.
However, the judge also noted that he had prior convictions, including offences of a similar nature, and had breached previous community-based sentences.
For serious housebreaking, the court imposed a sentence of two and a half years, reduced by six months for his early guilty plea. For serious indecent assault, the court imposed 18 months, to run concurrently with the first count.
This left a final custodial sentence of 18 months, followed by a suspended period of 12 months to run over two years under strict conditions set by the court.
The sentence was backdated to account for time already served in custody.
The court also issued a publication restriction under section 119 of the Criminal Offences Act, prohibiting the release of any information that could identify the complainant.
