Victim rejects attacker’s home detention sentence
A judge’s attempt to smooth over an ongoing dispute that has led to violence between two women did not end well at a Christchurch District Court sentencing session.
Judge David Saunders had just imposed an 11-month home detention sentence on 25-year-old Natalae Grace McAllister for an attack on her ex-partner’s girlfriend.
The attack by McAllister, which included a home invasion, took place more than two years ago and finally led to guilty pleas on the morning of her jury trial when the Crown agreed to drop a charge of attempting to poison the victim.
She was then remanded on bail for sentencing today after admitting charges of assault with intent to injure and aggravated burglary.
McAllister and the victim did not go through the formal restorative justice process but arranged their own informal meeting. Crown prosecutor Kathy Basire said she could not say the pair were reconciled but the meeting had allowed them to talk through the “pressures and stresses” that McAllister had faced at the time.
Miss Basire indicated to the judge that the victim was sitting in the court’s public seating.
He then heard submissions and sentenced McAllister to home detention rather than prison, where she would have served time while caring for her eight-week old child. She would not have had care of her three-year-old.
Judge Saunders ordered her to pay $500 reparations to the victim and then told McAllister: “You will be required to engage in programmes as directed by probation that will benefit you in the future as a mother and a citizen in this community.”
He then asked the victim if the she approved of the sentence. She didn’t.
The judge said, “Your body language told me something different when you heard the sentence.”
But the woman replied: “She nearly killed me. I don’t know how you can give her home detention.”
When the woman continued to speak, Judge Saunders ended up telling her, “I’m not dealing with you any further. Be quiet.”
The violent incident arose from friction after a break-up of McAllister’s relationship with a man who had a child with her.
In October and November 2014 McAllister sent threatening text messages to her ex-partner’s new partner. The Crown said the text exchanges became “heated and vitriolic”.
On the morning of November 18, 2014, McAllister went to the address where the ex-partner was living with the woman. She knocked on the door and then hid from view beside the door.
When the woman opened the door, McAllister burst in, punched her and grabbed her around the throat. She pulled her to the ground by her hair and then choked her.
The woman fought back and managed to stand up. McAllister forced her into the corner of a room, punched her repeatedly on the back of the head and kicked her several times in the face and stomach.
When the assault ended, she went into the kitchen and took a kitchen knife with a 185mm blade.
As the woman sat on the bed recovering from her injuries, McAllister held the knife to her face. She threatened to assault her if she saw her again.
McAllister then told her to pack up her stuff and get out of the house. The woman ran to a dairy where she called police and an ambulance.
The woman received serious bruising and swelling to her face and head, a sore back and right arm, and bruising and scratching to her throat.
McAllister pleaded guilty to the aggravated burglary and assault charges after the Crown agreed on the day of the trial to drop a charge of causing the victim to take seratine and nurofen with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Category: Focus
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