Michael John Danyon Fraser (26) was jailed for two years, three months when he appeared before the Dunedin District Court in March.
Immediately after sentence was passed, there was an indication an appeal would be lodged and yesterday those arguments were heard by Justice Jonathan Eaton in the High Court at Dunedin.
In the early hours of April 23 last year, Fraser met the victim in an Octagon bar and they agreed to go back to his home.
During consensual intercourse, the defendant slapped the woman and laughed when she told him not to do it again.
Later, Fraser put his hands around the victim’s neck and squeezed for up to 20 seconds as she struggled to breathe.
She fled to the bathroom and messaged her friend to pick her up, then returned to the bedroom to gather her belongings; but Fraser had other ideas.
He forced her on to the bed, his weight pressed down on her shoulders, as she tried to fight him off.
The victim brought her knees up to her chest and repeatedly yelled ‘‘no’’ and ‘‘stop’’ as Fraser tried to part them, the court heard.
He told her she was not leaving and closed the bedroom door before returning to the bed and pinning her down.
They struggled for several minutes, court documents said, before Fraser finally released her.
While the victim got dressed, the man lifted up her top to grope her.
Counsel at yesterday’s appeal James Olsen argued the starting point taken at the District Court sentencing was excessive.
The end point should be amended to less than two years and should be converted to home detention or intensive supervision, he said.
Mr Olsen urged Justice Eaton to take account of Fraser’s autism spectrum disorder and the role it played in the crimes.
The diagnosis manifested in "concrete thinking", Mr Olsen said which meant the earlier consensual acts would have made it harder for his client to pick up on the ensuing verbal and non-verbal protests from the victim.
However, Crown prosecutor Richard Smith said the jail term imposed on Fraser was "towards the lenient end" of the scale.
He stressed that the supposedly subtle cues from the victim, mentioned by Fraser’s defence team, were anything but.
"She’s telling him no, she’s telling him to stop and she’s telling him she wants to leave," Mr Smith said.
"This is a determined and persistent attempt to rape."
Even if Justice Eaton reduced the sentence to less than two years, Fraser should remain behind bars, he said.
The judge called it a "difficult case" and reserved his decision.
