Man Convicted of Protracted Violent Confinement and Assault in Canberra Case
A Canberra man has been found guilty of all charges related to what prosecutors described as a "protracted, extreme, violent" holding of a woman against her will for multiple days. The ACT Supreme Court jury delivered their verdict after deliberating for less than a day, rejecting the defendant's claims that he was acting in self-defense.
Details of the Violent Incident
Sisituutuumata Fulivai, 46, was arrested in June 2024 after police discovered a naked woman screaming and running down a Lyneham street. The woman reported she had been held hostage, beaten, and raped in a nearby residence. Fulivai had pleaded not guilty to 20 charges including forcible confinement, sexual intercourse without consent, choking, and making threats to kill.
During the multi-week trial, the jury heard harrowing details of the woman's ordeal. She testified that after initially meeting through mutual friends and having consensual sex, Fulivai became "aggressive and angry" and began talking to himself in the third person. The victim described being repeatedly struck in the head with maximum force and waking up to find Fulivai raping her before being beaten unconscious.
Escape and Evidence Presented in Court
The woman told police she was "terrified" throughout the ordeal and went to her knees begging Fulivai not to hit her. She described one attempt to escape through a bathroom back door, but Fulivai barged in and followed her "to make sure I didn't do anything wrong." He then threatened her with a green casserole dish before stripping her naked and assaulting her with a crutch.
Fulivai had also taken the woman's phone and used a knife to threaten to kill her and her family. She eventually managed to escape after a struggle near the front door of the residence.
During the trial, Crown prosecutor Marina Lucero presented evidence showing the victim suffered 52 separate injuries while being held captive. Blood matching the victim's DNA was found on multiple items including a piece of timber, a screwdriver, bedsheets, and on bedroom walls and floors.
Defendant's Claims and Jury Rejection
In his testimony, Fulivai claimed the victim had "stitched me up" and lied to police. He portrayed himself as the victim of a home invasion, alleging the woman had attacked him twice and repeatedly stabbed the back of his head with a screwdriver. "She deliberately made that story up to the coppers ... I believe that most of her narrative is exaggerated," Fulivai stated during cross-examination.
The 46-year-old denied having sex with the victim, citing "erectile dysfunction" as preventing him from doing so. When shown photos of the woman's injuries on her head, face, arms, legs, shoulders, chest and neck, Fulivai repeatedly responded, "I suspect I did," while maintaining he acted entirely in self-defense.
A doctor who testified during the trial described Fulivai's injuries as "superficial," contradicting his claims of being the primary victim in the incident.
Prosecution's Closing Arguments and Verdict
In her closing address, prosecutor Lucero told the jury the victim was an honest and credible witness who endured "a protracted, extreme, violent event that she believed she would not survive and that she had only just managed to escape." The prosecutor argued the woman was "too terrified to try to run" during her captivity.
Lucero urged jurors to reject Fulivai's version of events, stating: "All of it defies belief when you consider the evidence." Defense barrister James Sabharwal reminded jurors to consider each count individually and that the threshold for a guilty verdict required proof "beyond reasonable doubt," noting "there is a lot of emotion in this case."
The jury ultimately found Fulivai guilty on all counts. While the verdicts were being taken by the court, Fulivai frowned as he sat in the dock. He remains in custody and is scheduled to face sentencing at a later date.
Support services are available for those affected by similar incidents, including Lifeline (13 11 14), beyondblue (1300 224 636), and the Canberra Rape Crisis Centre (6247 2525).
