A violent aboriginal criminal has been jailed for raping a sleeping stranger after breaking into her home in the lawless Northern Territory city of Alice Springs.
Henry Larry, 22, was sentenced to eight years and ten months’ imprisonment with a five-year and four-month non-parole period in the Alice Springs Supreme Court on Monday over the horrific attack on December 7 last year.
Larry, a father-of-two, pleaded guilty in November to two counts of sexual intercourse without consent, one count of gross indecency without consent, being armed with an offensive weapon, and aggravated burglary on a dwelling.
Justice Greg Burns said during sentencing the home invasion was “premeditated”, but when Larry saw the woman sleeping he decided to rape her, and continued after she woke up, NT News reported.
The court heard Larry told his victim “I was only going to rob you. Then I saw you sleeping”, and after being arrested confessed to the rape and gloated about it while in the police watch-house. Sources told The Australian at the time that he made admissions about “having sex with a White woman”.
A victim impact statement was read to the court in November, but cannot be published due to a suppression order made by Justice Burns.
On Monday the court was told Larry’s childhood was impacted by domestic violence but that he could be rehabilitated with a “healing plan” outlined in a psychologist’s report.
Justice Burns said Larry knew the rape was “legally and morally wrong” and rejected the plan, but applied a 20% sentencing reduction due to his early guilty plea.
He also noted that despite Larry having a “significant” criminal record, including convictions for assault and breaching domestic violence orders, he had no history of sexual offending.
Larry showed no emotion when the judge handed down his sentence, which was backdated to the day of his arrest last year, meaning he will be eligible for parole in April 2030.
Header image: Henry Larry on police body-worn camera in the watch-house after his arrest (NT Courts).
