Sentenced for child assault

A woman has been sentenced to prison for assaulting two children and breaching her home detention sentence.

Katarina Martin-Tihi appeared in the Whakatāne District Court for sentence having previously been convicted of assaulting two children with whom she shared a home.

She was additionally convicted of breaching the home detention sentence she received for injuring with intent to injure.

Defence lawyer Jonathon Kay said Martin Tihi had been living in a house with the two child victims and their two female guardians.

Martin-Tihi was not related to the victims or their guardians.

The assault charges came as a result of a police investigation after more serious charges were laid against the two other adults in the house following the death of one of the children.

Between July 1 and November 24, Martin-Tihi slapped, with an open hand, a six-year-old girl three times. During this same time, she slapped an eight-year-old boy.

Mr Kay said these slaps were made after “behavioural issues, like lying”.

While facing these charges and serving home detention, Martin-Tihi received threats resulting in her relocating home detention addresses four times.

Judge Melinda Mason said she understood why Martin-Tihi felt she had to leave the address because of feeling unsafe.

She said the assaults from Martin-Tihi did not leave the children with injuries.

“I understand the pressure of the investigation; it became unbearable for you to be at the address. Ideally, you would have turned yourself in, but you didn’t.”

Martin-Tihi's original home detention sentence was cancelled, and she was sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment, which included two months for the assaults on the children.

She was also ordered to pay $1990 reparation for broken corrections equipment.

Further adjournment

Keelin Ruru has received a further remand on charges of possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of police property.

Defence lawyer Paul Devoy said police were still undertaking investigations in the case and Ruru still needed to provide instructions to his lawyer, who he had not yet had the opportunity to meet.

Ruru was remanded until August 29 for further case review.

Co-accused Aaron Raaki is also charged with unlawful possession of a firearm.

His defence lawyer, Leonard Hemi, asked for Raaki’s attendance to be excused as the defendant was at a live-in rehabilitation facility.

Judge Melinda Mason excused Raaki.

Mr Hemi said there had been police delays in Raaki’s case since May, and he was going to file a section 147 application, which, if successful, would see Raaki discharged.

Judge Mason remanded Raaki until October 24 to allow time for Mr Hemi to file the application and told Ruru the same option might be available to him, too.

Couple fight in public

A Whakatāne couple have been ordered to come up if called upon after being convicted of fighting in a public place.

Peter Ford, 31, and Summer Rehu, 26, were reported to police for fighting on King Street.

Rehu’s lawyer, Jonathon Kay, said during the dispute, “a few blows were exchanged”.

“If it wasn’t for someone else getting involved in it, she wouldn’t be appearing before the court today,” Mr Kay said.

Ford and Rehu were ordered to come up if called upon within six months.

Judge alone trial set

An Edgecumbe man has had a judge alone trial set to hear a charge of driving with excess breath alcohol.

Oran Fahey, 22, is accused of driving with a breath alcohol level of 450 micrograms per litre of breath. The legal limit for driving is 250mcgs.

He was remanded until January 29 for a judge alone trial.

Broken ranch slider

A man has been sentenced for an assault that resulted in the breaking of a ranchslider door at the home of his partner’s grandmother.

Te Pairi Tait-Olsen was convicted of assaulting a person in a family relationship and wilful damage.

His lawyer, Rebecca Plunket, said Tait-Olsen acknowledged this type of behaviour “shouldn’t happen in front of their young baby”.

Tait-Olsen said he had already paid back the grandmother for the damage to the ranch slider but failed to bring the invoice to court. He said he could obtain another invoice.

Judge Mason said according to his references, this behaviour was out of character for Tait-Olsen.

She sentenced him to nine months’ supervision.

“You have a young child now; you need to behave better,” she said.

She ordered him to pay $200 reparation but said this could be cancelled if he brought the invoice to the court by 2pm that day.

Sentenced for assault

An Ōpōtiki man has been sentenced for assaulting a person in a family relationship.

Credence Phillips, 40, was charged with assault on a person in a family relationship, to which he pleaded guilty.

He was initially charged with failing to comply with a police safety order, but this charge was withdrawn by police.

He was also charged with unlawfully taking a motor vehicle. On this charge, he was remanded without plea until August 20.

On the assault charge, his lawyer, Rebecca Plunket, said Phillips accepted his conduct was “out of line”.

“He wants tools to manage his behaviour and responses when he’s in the home,” she said.

He was sentenced to nine months’ supervision.

“I understand your family was under pressure at the time, but that’s no way to behave. You have to sort that out,” Judge Mason told Phillips.

Pleas entered

A man has pleaded to charges of family assault and contravening a protection order.

Matthew Woodman pleaded not guilty to two counts of contravening a protection order and two counts of assaulting a person in a family relationship.

He pleaded guilty to assaulting a child.

“I smacked his bum, I hurt his feelings more than anything,” Woodman told Judge Mason.

He also pleaded guilty to failing to answer district court bail.

Judge Mason remanded Woodman until a February 13 judge-alone trial.

Stole car battery after assault

A man has been sentenced after assaulting his partner.

Christopher McGregor pleaded guilty to assault of a person in a family relationship.

Judge Mason said McGregor’s last related offending had been in 2020 against the same victim, but there had been more than 30 family harm callouts involving the couple.

On this occasion, McGregor was acting in an aggravated manner around his home and throwing household items around.

His partner locked him outside. When she went out to ask him a question, he became angrier and struck her with an open hand, causing her nose to bleed.

The couple have young children who were there at the time.

McGregor then opened the bonnet of the victim’s car and removed the battery, so she and the children could not leave.

Judge Mason read the victim impact statement in which the victim said the assault was painful and she could “feel the blood running down her face”. She described everything happening in front of the children as “devastating”.

“It’s not good for your children to see this or for your partner to suffer,” Judge Mason told McGregor.

She sentenced him to 60 hours’ community work and nine months’ supervision.

Home detention

A woman has been sentenced to four months’ home detention on a range of charges.

Shayna Hallett was convicted of breaching community work, theft under $500, driving while disqualified and failing to answer district court bail.

Judge Mason said this was Hallett’s ninth driving while disqualified charge.

She was ordered to pay $115.37 reparation.

Girl pinned to fence with vehicle

A Whakatāne man has been sentenced after accelerating into a fence during a kapa haka festival and pinning a young girl between the fence and the car.

Steven Rowe, 75, was charged with aggravated careless driving, driving while his licence was suspended and driving with excess breath alcohol.

Defence lawyer Russell Nye-Wood said Rowe was aware that he would not be able to drive again.

On October 27, Rowe was driving his Hyundai Sonata at speed near the rugby grounds where the Ngāti Awa Te Toki Kapa Haka Festival was being held. The footpaths were busy with people frequently crossing the road.

Rowe was driving at speed, and accelerated onto the footpath, when he hit the victim and pinned her to a fence.

She was taken to Whakatāne Hospital with injuries to her hips, thighs and a concussion.

While Rowe was being treated at the hospital, he was given a blood test, which determined he had a blood alcohol limit of 106 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood. The legal limit for driving is 50 milligrams.

In a victim impact statement, the victim said she had no permanent physical injuries but had sustained psychological trauma from the incident.

She said she was grateful it was her that was hit, and not her younger siblings.

Her family endured costs to stay in town while the victim was in hospital.

Rowe is now in the full-time care of his daughter and is dealing with his own health issues.

Judge Mason disqualified Rowe from driving for two years and ordered him to pay reparation of $115.34 and emotional harm reparation of $1000.