Judge labels rape of intruder 'cruel and barbaric'

He had asked for money and drugs and was allegedly linked to others who had gone to the house to stand over a resident.

Mr Cox, 36, was overpowered by Klay Holland, who was a guest at the home.

Holland had asked him to leave and called police, but Mr Cox was allegedly unwilling to comply.

Mr Cox was beaten with a baseball bat and was incapacitated on the floor, where Holland then raped him.

Justice Christopher Beale described the incident as degrading and humiliating during a pre-sentence hearing on Tuesday.

Mr Cox died at the scene.

A jury convicted Holland of one charge of rape, but he was found not guilty of manslaughter.

Alex Patton, for Holland, said he couldn't sensibly take issue with that description, but suggested a distinction should be drawn between someone who sets out to commit a rape, and one that was "entirely responsive to the circumstances".

He said the judge had to consider Holland's cognitive abilities, intellectual disabilities and his compromised mental health, which led to longstanding issues with irritability and impulsivity.

But Justice Beale doubled down.

"Words like cruel and barbaric are apt," he said in the Supreme Court.

"It's a violent sexual offence - it's committed to punish, (for) revenge."

Mr Patton argued the crime was at the lower end of the spectrum and said Holland had done everything he was able to, at the time, to resolve the issue of Mr Cox being in the home, including calling police and asking Mr Cox to leave.

It was in the context of compromised reasoning and problem-solving skills that his client had lashed out, he said.

The court heard Holland had expressed some sympathy for what Mr Cox went through and what his family had been put through, but Justice Beale noted there was no remorse.

Mr Cox's sister and partner both described losing a man who had been their protector.

Holland will be sentenced at a later date.

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National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028