The 51-year-old recently appeared for sentencing in the Whangārei District Court after being found guilty by a jury on a charge of rape.
The jury heard that Moka was on prison release conditions when he asked a friend if he could stay with him.
The friend offered him a bed for one night. That evening, Moka and his friend’s daughter, who had become incoherent after taking a prescribed drug, went to her room.
Judge Gene Tomlinson said at sentencing that it was unclear how the two got there.
“Whether you took her, whether she took herself, whether she went into her room and you followed, was unclear. But you and her were in the room together,” the judge said.
Her father noticed they were gone and when he went to her room, the door was locked.
Jerry Moka was sentenced in Whangārei District Court.
“Whilst in the room, whilst she’s unconscious, or at least incapable of recalling what happens and certainly incapable of consenting, you had sex with her,” Judge Tomlinson said.
“You knew what you did was wrong because the next morning, Mr Moka, when confronted, you ran and you jumped out a window.
“I’m entirely satisfied that the jury assessed the evidence and were satisfied that you knew that what you did was wrong, that she was not consenting, and of course, that means that it was rape.”
While Moka has 16 pages of criminal history listing more than 100 convictions, it was his first for a sexual violation.
His childhood of abuse while in state care was a focus of sentencing, with it being described as the precursor to his life of crime.
“This conviction now just adds to the litany of consequences, both for you, for your victim, and indeed for our society and our community,” Judge Tomlinson said.
“The fruit, if I can describe it thus, of our failures as a society to care for the most vulnerable when they were the most vulnerable.
Jerry Moka was part of the Abuse in Care – Royal Commission of Inquiry. Photo / RNZ
“And it saddens me that as a society we have let you down, we’ve let your victim down, we’ve let down all the other victims of your offending simply by failing to adequately and properly care for you when you needed it most.”
Crown lawyer Bernadette O’Connor said Moka had breached his victim’s trust to a high degree, given the woman was noncoherent.
“Vulnerability was present to a very high degree to the extent she did not know what had happened to her.”
Moka’s lawyer, Catherine Cull, KC, said although it did not absolve Moka from the decision he made, his childhood was the causal contributor to where he found himself today.
“This is the first time in his however many years he has now started to face his past,” Cull said.
Judge Tomlinson acknowledged Moka wanted to turn his life around and help others with addictions but noted there was no sign of remorse.
“It doesn’t come through in the material before me,” the judge said.
However, Judge Tomlinson said the 208 paragraphs submitted on the abuse Moka suffered in state care and the official apology letter received from the chief executive of the Ministry of Social Development were difficult to read.
“I am 100% satisfied that the abuse you suffered in state care was, is a significant causative factor in pretty much all of your offending to date and indeed in relation to your choices on this day,” he said.
“Your taking advantage, your raping an extremely vulnerable woman who was your friend’s daughter is entirely horrific, terrible offending.
“But why you thought you could or should do such a thing is informed by all that has come before.”
Moka was sentenced to five years and two months’ imprisonment and will be required to go before the Parole Board for release.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.