A sex worker who was robbed at knifepoint before being sexually assaulted in her own unit has dedicated her strength and fight to regain her life to "other girls who felt unable to speak up".
Reading her impact statement in the ACT Supreme Court on Thursday during the sentencing proceedings of Craig Emberton, the survivor said the traumatic incident had given her the power "to stand strong" to "fight until the end to get that victory".
The agreed statement of facts reads that Emberton, 34, booked an appointment with the sex worker at a Canberra unit on March 25.
Once inside, he pulled a knife and demanded money before being handed about $430.
The offender, of Calwell, then raped the sex worker and, at one point, removed the condom.
Emberton, a truck driver, then deleted the call log and message history on her phone before leaving the unit, taking the knife and used condom with him.
After he left, the sex worker attended her service provider and retrieved the offender's mobile number before attending the Canberra Hospital for examination.
Three days later, she went to City Police Station before Emberton was arrested.
He participated in an interview in which he claimed he was having financial difficulties and was too embarrassed to ask his friends and family for support.
On Thursday, the survivor broke down in tears as she told the court she initially blamed herself and she "felt useless and of no value at all".
"The pain was unexplainable. I couldn't sleep, nightmares haunting me," she said.
"Being touched by this person made me feel like there is criminal blood inside me and I want to wash it out and start again."
She said she could not "forget how I had to plead with him not to kill me so I could continue to support my family".
The survivor said she then realised she did not want the offender "to take that power with them".
"I felt belittled by what happened to me. However, now it has given me strength and power to be positive," she said.
"I want to show to myself and to the defendant that I can get up to stand strong and to fight until the end to get that victory.
"To face all the dark times ... to find the right path and see the light.
"I dedicate this victory to other girls who felt unable to speak up."
Emberton had pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse without consent, aggravated robbery, and destroying evidence with the intention to influence a decision about starting a legal proceeding.
Defence lawyer Jason Moffett, of Key Chambers, said it would be remiss of him not to acknowledge "the powerful" impact statement.
"Her bravery and strength should be identified and acknowledge by this court," Mr Moffett said.
He said Emberton's difficult financial situation explained only the aggravated robbery, which he said had an element of premeditation.
Mr Moffett described the subsequent offences as "spontaneous and not planned" and argued for leniency based on his client having no criminal history and coming before the courts for the first time.
"[The conduct] is a very, very significant aberration of this otherwise exceptional and unblemished character," he said.
However, Mr Moffett said Emberton, who has no underlying psychiatric or psychological issues, undermined the basic notion of people having the right to feel safe in their premises.
Mr Moffett, in addressing Justice Geoffrey Kennett, said an intensive corrections order, a community-based sentencing option, was an open to the court, but he urged against it.
He said this was because the pre-sentence report stated the option was inappropriate as Emberton was not welcomed at his partner's premises and thereby had no accommodation in the community.
The objective seriousness of the offending also called for full-time jail, the defence lawyer said.
Mr Moffett argued for a generous non-parole period to be attached to that jail term.
He said his client also had an "exceptionally strong prosocial criteria", which includes the support of his partner and family, and that he had shown genuine remorse.
Prosecutor Sam Bargwanna said the sentencing purposes of deterrence, denunciation, and recognition of harm should be given prominence in relation to the sexual assault.
"There was no actual violence inflicted with the knife [during the aggravated robbery], but there was a real threat thereof," Mr Bargwanna said.
He said offences involving interference with the justice process "by their very nature are serious" and "strong deterrence sentences are required".
Mr Bargwanna said the offending had a profound impact on the survivor. He acknowledged the offender's positive upbringing and otherwise good character.
A date will be fixed in relation to Justice Kennett's sentence.
