He was also found guilty of assaulting the female victim with a weapon on one occasion, twice raping her and 14 other counts of sexual abuse that occurred over a period of years. He faced up to 20 years for the rape charges. <\/p>\n
Moeaia Tuai appears in the High Court at Auckland for trial in October 2025. Photo \/ Jason Dorday<\/p>\n
\u201cI wish I were like any other young woman living her dream and pushing to strive to be able to concentrate on things without having flashbacks,\u201d the woman wrote in a victim impact statement that was read aloud by prosecutors today. \u201cBut sadly, instead I am one of those girls fighting demons and emotions I don\u2019t deserve every day. <\/p>\n
\u201cNo girl deserves this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Funding your lifestyle\u2019<\/p>\n
Both victims spoke little to no English when they came to New Zealand and were dependent on the defendant to survive, the judge said today as she outlined the facts of the case. <\/p>\n
But instead of helping them establish a better life, Tuai controlled them in almost every way, including their finances. <\/p>\n
The male victim outlined how he had hoped for an education but was instead made to do odd jobs and handyman tasks at a boarding lodge, working long hours for an estimated $100 to $150 per week. <\/p>\n
After eight months, he was sent to live with the defendant\u2019s daughter in Australia and had a degree of autonomy for a while. But then Tuai also moved to Australia and took full control of finances and his passport \u2013 allowing him to keep only about $100 per week.<\/p>\n
Tuai also made the male victim apply for two bank loans totalling $55,000, which the judge noted \u201cwere fortunately declined\u201d. But when that didn\u2019t work he had the victim act as guarantor on a bank loan for Tuai\u2019s daughter, which she didn\u2019t pay, leaving the victim responsible. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe male victim had earned good money in Australia and had worked long hours,\u201d Justice Wilkinson-Smith noted. \u201cYou took almost all of that money he earned. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m satisfied by the evidence I heard at trial that you used the male victim as a source of income when you were in Australia. You were not working. The male victim was funding your lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n
Justice Michele Wilkinson-Smith. Photo \/ Bevan Conley<\/p>\n
Despite Tuai\u2019s threats that he would have the male victim deported if he ran away, the victim was eventually able to obtain a replacement passport with the help of his partner\u2019s family and flee to New Zealand. <\/p>\n
When the funds dried up, Tuai also returned to New Zealand. His focus then turned solely on the female victim, authorities said. <\/p>\n
\u2018Treated as property\u2019<\/p>\n
Tuai arranged for the female victim to work under-the-table jobs at two Auckland laundromats every day of the week, putting in 10-hour days for about $90 per day that he kept for himself. <\/p>\n
He kept meticulous notes in a diary, which outlined how at one point the victim worked 57 days without a single day off. <\/p>\n
\u201cYour diary showed that the level of work she was undertaking was extreme,\u201d the judge said today, adding up almost $11,000 that the defendant was thought to have kept for himself before finding the victim a more lucrative job as a temp worker. <\/p>\n
He would drive her to and from work each day and didn\u2019t allow her a mobile phone, the judge noted. Co-workers described sharing food with her because she often had no or little lunch. When not at work, she wasn\u2019t allowed to go anywhere without being accompanied by the defendant or his wife. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe was in a very real sense your slave,\u201d the judge said. \u201cShe did the work and you got the benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is estimated he took roughly $80,000 of her earnings from that job over several years. <\/p>\n
Like the male defendant, he also got her to apply for a $30,000 loan. When the bank instead approved a $7000 loan, he took all the money for himself and never repaid, the judge noted. <\/p>\n
When the female victim also eventually ran away, she had only $800 in her account. The defendant withdrew it immediately upon realising she had left, \u201cleaving her with nothing\u201d, the judge noted. In a further act of spite, he called immigration authorities inquiring if her citizenship could be revoked. The recorded call, in which he expressed disappointment that it couldn\u2019t, was played for jurors. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt was clear, as far as you were concerned, she was only in New Zealand for your benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sexual abuse, meanwhile, was alleged by the victim to have taken place both in Australia and in New Zealand \u2013 sometimes in the car as he drove her to and from work. Only the New Zealand offending, however, could be prosecuted. <\/p>\n
It was another example, the judge said, of how \u201cthe female victim was treated by you as property in every way\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u2018Exploited and used\u2019<\/p>\n
The judge noted today that Tuai remains unrepentant. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt seems to me you believed and probably still believe … you were providing them with an opportunity,\u201d Justice Wilkinson-Smith explained. \u201cYou thought that entitled you to the money they earned.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although slavery is a relatively rarely prosecuted charge in New Zealand, the judge noted on several occasions today that she feared it may be more widespread than is known. She said she hoped her words serve as warning that such practices are slavery and are illegal. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou cannot bring people to New Zeaand and exploit them for their labour and income,\u201d she explained. \u201cThis is not a case of cultural misunderstanding.\u201d<\/p>\n
One aspect of the sentence, she noted, would have to be to deter others from committing similar crimes. <\/p>\n
She ordered a 12-year starting point for the rape charges and added two years for other sexual offences. An uplift of five years was added for the slavery charges, resulting in a combined starting point of 19 years. <\/p>\n
Although slavery was not considered the lead charge, the judge reserved some of her most cutting words for her description of the crime. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou exploited and used both victims in the most cynical way,\u201d the judge said. \u201cYou saddled them with debt and you denied them the benefit of their own labour. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not mitigating that a … person is so vulnerable that they might accept slavery as an alternative to returning home to extreme poverty.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou used the victims in every possible way and you showed no regard for their wellbeing. You placed no value on them. They were just there for your benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The judge allowed two 5% discounts, taking into account that his prison sentence may be more difficult than most due to his prior employment as a prison guard and his wife\u2019s brain tumour. It should be noted that the wife also benefited from the slavery but that doesn\u2019t change the fact she is unwell, the judge said.<\/p>\n
A reduction of nine months was added to account for the year-and-a-half he spent on 24-hour house arrest awaiting trial. <\/p>\n
Although it wasn\u2019t asked for, Justice Wilkinson-Smith emphasised that she would not have allowed a discount for prior good character despite the defendant\u2019s lack of prior criminal record. He used his reputation as a matai, or Samoan chief, to commit the crimes, she said. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou say that the court did not consider your culture during the trial,\u201d the judge explained. \u201cYour offending is … an abuse of Samoan cultural traditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also ordered that Tuai serve nearly half of his 16-year, four-month sentence before he can begin to apply for parole. <\/p>\n
\u2018No longer silenced\u2019<\/p>\n
Struggling through tears today as he read a victim impact statement, the male complainant described his mixed feeling about coming to New Zealand years ago, leaving behind his \u201cclose, warm bond\u201d with his family for a better life. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe things I had been told did not match what actually happened … and I prayed to God if there was a way to remove me from the hardship I was experiencing,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Years later, his mind remains uneasy and he is quicker to anger, he said, \u201call because I felt I had no freedom as a person\u201d. <\/p>\n
He thanked the kind Samaritans who helped him when he ran away, and later police and prosecutors who took the case seriously. Now reunited with his family, he said his parents are helping him to \u201crebuild the good life that was broken because of these people\u201d. <\/p>\n
The female victim said she, too, is trying to piece her life back together. <\/p>\n
Giving evidence against Tuai at trial and providing a statement for his sentencing was part of that. <\/p>\n
\u201cI am determined to ensure my voice is heard and to explain the profound impact this horrific crime has had on me,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a big step for me as my voice was always silenced, but no longer today.\u201d<\/p>\n