A woman has bravely relived her horrific experience of being bashed and raped as if she was a ‘piece of meat’ by a psychotic sex attacker.
Sarah Preece, 49, suffered deep and large wounds to her head and lips, as well as gashes to her hands, while being raped by Jacob Jensen in September 2017.
She endured the 45-minute assault at her Nelson home on New Zealand’s South Island which began when Jensen stormed in and said: ‘I have an hour-and-a-half to live and I’m going to rape you first.’
Sarah Preece (pictured), 49, suffered deep and large wounds to her head and lips, as well as gashes to her hands, before being raped by Jacob Jensen two years ago on September 7
She endured the 45-minute assault at her home when Mr Jensen (pictured) stormed in and said: ‘I have an hour and a half to live and I’m going to rape you first’
The meat worker, who was diagnosed with psychosis, had fled the nearby Nelson Hospital emergency department on foot and attacked Ms Preece.
Workers from the mental health crisis team on the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board (DHB) were unable to detain Jensen because they were occupied with another job.
He had checked himself into the emergency and waited in line for two-and-a-half hours but walked out without staff noticing, according to DHB medical records.
Ms Preece told TVNZ’s Sunday program: ‘I became nothing. I became a piece of meat and there was nothing I could do.’
The 49-year-old says she is still mentally damaged, suffered a traumatic brain injury and is still unable to work years after the violent attack.
Ms Preece’s says her brain injury, which mainly affected her frontal lobe, has diminished her ability to complete simple everyday tasks, according to her victim impact statement.
Jensen put Ms Preece’s arms behind her back, leaving her unable to defend herself.
He then smashed her head, which he used as a ‘battering ram’ into the kitchen table and then bashed her with a metal coffee pot.
‘I couldn’t comprehend how that person [Jensen] was suddenly there,’ Ms Preece said.
‘There was a part of me that left myself when he started to rape me. I was just trying in every way I could to survive.’
The 49-year-old says she is still mentally damaged, physically injured and unable to work years after the violent attack
Mr Jensen was found not guilty by Judge Tony Zohrab when he faced the Nelson District Court in April 2018 by reason of insanity after obtaining three independent reports from psychologists.
A suppression order on Ms Preece’s name was lifted at her request so she could openly speak about the incident.
She has blamed the DHB for failing to attend to Mr Jensen’s needs quickly.
‘I would not have been raped or bashed that night by Jacob Jensen if they had provided him with due and adequate care,’ she said.
Ms Preece said the DHB has been ‘completely and utterly uncooperative’ with her request to obtain information about the cause of the attack.
The hospital refused to provide the rape victim a copy of their review on Jensen’s case but she managed to obtain the document under the Official Information Act.
DHB records show Mr Jensen had been of high risk of harm but the review states there were no risk factors.
‘This review found even though someone had come to the hospital seeking help and had left without receiving it, they don’t think they could’ve done anything different,’ she said.
In a statement to Sunday, the DHB has denied any cover up and says they have made changes to their mental health roster so staff can readily attend to needs of patients.
A suppression order on Ms Preece’s name was lifted at her request so she could openly speak about the incident
Ms Preece received a hand-written letter from Mr Jensen apologising for what he had done and admitted he was ‘out of touch with reality’ during the assault.
‘I’m writing to apologise for my action, I hope that in no way do you feel responsible for what has happened to you as this was compleatly [sic] out of your control,’ Mr Jensen’s letter read.
‘I struggle to come to terms with what I have done to you, ”I’m sorry” … I do hope you can be resililant [sic] and can overcome this.’
In Ms Preece’s victim impact statement, she thanked Mr Jensen for his apology.
‘Your actions, whatever compelled them, or whatever failed to prevent them, have caused undue suffering to a lot of people,’ she wrote.
‘Now, neither you nor I are free to enjoy the futures we might otherwise have looked forward to, had our lives not been misshapen by what happened that night.
‘I hope you find a sense of meaningful connection, and purpose in your life, despite the adversity created by the events of 7th Sept.’
As part of her lengthy statement, Ms Preece wrote: ‘Please know that I forgive you.’
Mr Jensen remains as a ‘special patient’ in a mental health unit.
Ms Preece said the DHB has been ‘completely and utterly uncooperative’ with her request to obtain information about the cause of the attack