PUBLISHED ONJune 19, 2015 6:28 AM
WELLINGTON - A New Zealand man who yanked women's teeth out with pliers during sex and had a fetish for "fat gummy ladies" was jailed for six years on Friday.
The sentencing judge said that finding an appropriate sentence for Wellington man Philip Lyle Hansen was "bizarre", as he had never come across a case like it.
"The offending had a gratuitous, almost torture-like sense to it," judge Bruce Davidson told a sentencing hearing at Wellington District Court, as Hansen's victims wept in the public gallery.
The 56-year-old was found guilty last month of five counts of assault and one of indecent assault after a six-day trial heard evidence about his sexual habits and obsession with dentistry.
The trial heard Hansen, who has no dental qualifications, was a domineering and controlling personality who preferred his women without teeth.
Prosecutors said more than 600 searches relating to dentistry and extracting teeth were found on his computer, including ones looking for "fat gummy ladies".
His victims' names have been suppressed but one read a statement to the court detailing her ordeal at the hands of Hansen, who she met through an online dating site.
The woman said she was at a low point in her life at the time and vulnerable to Hansen, who tried to ban her from seeing her family.
She described how, after consensual sex in the back of a car, he produced a pair of pliers, pulled out her tooth and threw it out the window, giving her an oily rag to stem the bleeding.
The woman said she was terrified of Hansen and the abuse continued when she woke in bed one night to find him on top of her trying to rip out more teeth.
"You wanted me fat, with no teeth, housebound as your [HANSEN'S]slave," she said, adding that she fled after the bedroom incident but felt "completely broken" by her experience.
"You destroyed my trust in people... I don't care what happens to you," the woman said.
Another victim recounted during the trial how Hansen suddenly produced a pair of pliers during sex and next thing she heard was her teeth cracking.
The dental assaults were carried out without anaesthetic and the judge described his actions as "extremely brutal and painful".
Hansen, wearing sunglasses and a grey prison-issue top, sat expressionless in the dock, aside from a tight smile after Davidson handed down his six-year sentence.