Photo: RNZ/Marika Khabazi
A well-known musician found guilty of domestic violence charges has been sentenced to 80 hours of community service.
The man's applications for a discharge without conviction and permanent name suppression were both declined, however he was given an extra month of interim suppression after his lawyer Susan Gray indicated she planned to appeal.
The musician was found guilty on two of the eleven charges he faced for domestic violence. One charge for assault on a person in a family relationship and one for assault with a weapon.
"The Crown referred to you being at [the victim's] house and a verbal argument ensued. During the argument it is said you bit her forearm, her referencing the force of the bite as a 7 on a scale of 1 through 10," Judge Simon Lance recounted.
"In relation to the assault with a weapon, in December 2023 another verbal argument ensued and you hit her over the head with a 1.5 litre plastic bottle. She said it was hard, as hard as you can hit someone with a drink bottle."
Gray argued the relationship was "toxic" and "aggressive" on both sides.
"The defence contend the [offending] was in response to physical and verbal aggression. That does not excuse the offending but it does, in my submission, reduce [the severity]," she said.
"This was a very toxic relationship and he was at times subject to extreme levels of harassment in the form of phone calls and messaging."
She said he had taken steps to rehabilitate and was remorseful.
"[He] has tried numerous ways to manage the relationship in a positive non-violent way, such as tai-chi, mindfulness and counselling," Gray said.
"It is appropriate [he] is given the opportunity to rebuild his life."
Gray argued the musician should be discharged without a conviction, because a conviction would impact his future employment and health.
Judge Lance noted the two charges for which the musician was found guilty were of a lower severity than the other nine charges he faced.
"I would find the offending is at the low to moderate end of the scale," he said.
But he declined the musician's application to be discharged without a conviction.
"The consequences that have occurred have occurred because of the offending and the charges, I'm not convinced there will be further consequences on top of what has already happened," he said.
"In my view the recommendation of community work is an appropriate and reasonable one. The amount of community work on a total basis would be 80 hours. The maximum is 400 hours... So you can see the sentence is at the lower end."
Gray was given until 29 April to appeal the sentence.
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