Jail for home invasion assault

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A man who tied up and indecently assaulted a teenager during a brazen home invasion in Remuera has been sentenced to five years and three months jail.

Shane Victor Hughes appeared in the Auckland District Court today for sentencing having plead guilty to charges of possession of a weapon, indecent assault and unlawful detention on November 7.

Further charges of possession of methamphetamine, possession of two bongs for smoking cannabis and possession of pipes for smoking methamphetamine were withdrawn.

Hughes was also sentenced to nine months jail for an unrelated offence, the burglary of an Auckland motel where he stole two TVs.

Judge Phil Gittos set a non-parole period of three years and ordered Hughes to undergo a psychiatric assessment. 

The 35-year-old Glen Innes beneficiary went into the Victoria Ave, Remuera, home in the early hours of September 22, last year, armed with a knife and a hammer.

He went on to tie up and assault a 19-year-old woman in her downstairs bedroom while her family slept in the upper levels of the home, before fleeing with several stolen items.

In a victim impact statement the teenager's mother, Niamh McMahon described the incident as like " a grenade had been thrown" into the family.

Outside the court she said her family was moving on from the attack.

"We have reached a milestone and we will be moving on," McMahon said.

"The primary victim was (my daughter) and the impact has been far greater for her. She has good days and bad days."

The teenager is receiving ongoing counselling through victim support.

Shortly after the attack McMahon said her daughter had been too afraid to sleep in her room, but the family refused to be cowed by the "ugly" assailant and still live at the property.

"I guess it takes an event like this to make you focus on what's important in life and one thing that's not going to be that important in our lives is Shane Victor Hughes in prison. I promise you we will step over this and move on," she said.

McMahon added that her daughter, a top student who was writing exams at the time, was "still up and down" and nervous around the house.

However, the family were philosophical about the ordeal.

"In a sense, reflecting on what he did it was truly awful and [I] wouldn't wish for it to ever happen again but I would also say that he probably fits your average statistic of a person who engages in that kind of behaviour. I imagine his home life wasn't flash and he didn't have the opportunities and nor did he make good choices."

- © Fairfax NZ News