Victims of serial groper tell of the fear and lasting effects of his offending

When Judge Geoff Rea sentenced serial groper Jason Trembath, he said the victim impact statements were heart-wrenching.

The statements, released to Stuff, are from six of the 11 women Trembath groped on the streets of Hawke’s Bay and Rotorua in late 2017.

One of the women said ”the image of him following me and indecently assaulting my body while I stood helpless and in shock will always leave a scar in my mind,” she said.

She said she no longer felt safe on her own and “unfortunately people like Mr Trembath is a reminder to women like me that there are bad people out there”.

READ MORE: * Identity of serial groper revealed after name suppression lifts following not guilty verdict at rape trial * Rape complainant will never forget shock of seeing the Facebook photo that triggered trial * Men found not guilty of rape * Men deny raping woman in Napier hotel * Alleged sexual assault posted on Facebook * Man charged with sexual violation

Another woman who was running when she was attacked, said “running is no longer the relaxed, enjoyable hobby it once used to be” and since the attack she wore a personal alarm when running alone.

“I find myself looking over my shoulder a considerable amount of time to ensure nobody is following me,” she said.

Another, just 17 at the time, said the incident had affected her confidence and she no longer felt safe going out by herself.

She was running with a friend when Trembath struck and said she would “hate to think what the offender may have attempted to do if either one of us were on our own”.

“Both myself and any individual have every right to be safe in our own community, and to be able to go for a run or undergo any other recreational activity without such instances occurring,” she said

“I even started driving to and from my work when I only lived 200 metres away as I was too scared to walk. I used to doubt myself, wondering about the clothing I wore, that somehow it was my fault that he did what he did to me,” she said.

“I felt ashamed about what happened and I didn’t want to talk about it with anyone, and even the first couple of times that police contacted me I would feel bad and upset,” she said.

“Before the incident happened, I enjoyed walking by myself but afterwards I was afraid to do so, especially at night,” she said.

She has regained her confidence and now walks alone. She said she wished she had not been scared and had confronted Trembath.

A woman who was 27 when attacked said someone younger that her may have found the experience horrific.

She was defiant and it would not affect her, but “I can’t deny however, how much more my sense are heightened whenever I run or walk alone”.

Trembath, 30, appeared in Napier District Court on Friday and was sentenced to five years and four months in jail.

Trembath admitted indecently assaulting the 11 women, and one charge of making an intimate visual recording and distributing the material by posting on a Facebook page of a Taradale Cricket Club team.

A jury last month acquitted Trembath and Joshua Pauling, 30, on charges of raping the woman, but Pauling was found guilty of being a party to making an intimate visual recording.

Trembath’s lawyer Nicola Graham said his offending was “almost inexplicable” and likely due to methamphetamine and gambling addictions.

Judge Rea said all of Trembath’s victims had suffered “dramatic” effects and the victim statements were “heart-wrenching”, he said.

His offending against women on ths streets brought considerable fear to many members of the community, particularly women, Judge Rea said.

He noted that despite his professed addictions to alcohol, gambling and pornography, he was a high performing businessman and sportsman. To blame it on other factors was “nebulous” he said.

Trembath was sentenced to three years and nine months jail for the groping charges and one year and seven months for taking and distributing the photograph.

Trembath was general manager of Bidfoods food distributors at the time, a senior cricket player who had played at representative level and was engaged to marry at the time.

He would often spot the women from his vehicle, then would park it and run – from either in front or behind them – grabbing their bottoms or crotches and squeezing, then sprinting away.

Sometimes he would assault two women in separate areas within hours of each other. On one occasion his victim was pushing a pram with children. On another, his victim was with her young son.