Woman keeping up relationship with teen who bashed her
A woman is sticking with her relationship with the 17-year-old who bashed her unconscious last year.
She was in the Christchurch District Court to see Pokaihou Te Uira Witute sentenced for a series of violent and sometimes bizarre incidents fuelled by alcohol.
Since his arrest last year he has been held in custody for seven months – the equivalent of a 14 month jail term.
Judge David Saunders was told by defence counsel Donald Matthews that Witute had put his time in custody in Christchurch Prison’s Youth Unit to good use, doing a forklift driving course and a parenting course.
He was not going to be allowed to attend an intermediate drug and alcohol rehabilitation programme until after his sentencing, but that rehabilitation will happen while he is serving home detention.
Judge Saunders decided to release him, to live at his mother’s address for six months on home detention, when he will have to undergo courses for alcohol and drug abuse and stopping violence.
He will not be allowed to possess or drink alcohol.
He would be allowed to see his partner but not resume “a full residential relationship”, said Judge Saunders. The woman will not be allowed to stay overnight.
Witute was sentenced after admitting charges of assaulting the woman, intentionally injuring her, two charges of assault, and two of wilful damage.
He assaulted the woman in March last year, and then in September he bashed her unconscious.
He assaulted a man in Shirley Road who stopped to assist the woman when she was being attacked.
He assaulted a police officer.
He caused $1300 by kicking in the panels on the cars of two men who stopped to help him when he was lying in Warrington Street in another incident.
The judge ordered reparation payments for the damage he did to the cars, and spoke directly to the woman who was in court to support Witute.
“You are looking a lot better than the photos I saw attached to the police summary of facts,” he told her. “Clearly you have seen some qualities in this young man and you want to stand by him in spite of what he has done to you.”
Category: Focus
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