December 17, 2008

Offender gets his Christmas wish: family

A 26-year-old Christchurch man, Johnathan Noel Monk, has been given a break for Christmas.

He was released today when Christchurch District Court Judge Jane Farish set aside her misgivings about the holidays.

She had a long talk with him while he stood in the dock for sentence on charges of assault with a weapon and assault on a woman, as well as his fourth and fifth convictions for drink-driving.

His partner is the victim for both assaults, but she was in court to support him and they were sitting together in the court room as he waited for his release paperwork.

Now that he has been released from prison, Monk is able to apply for a residential drug and alcohol treatment programme that is due to start on January 16.

Judge Farish was worried that releasing him now, at a time when support services were going to be operating with skeleton staff over the holidays, might mean he was being ?set up to fail?.

But he said he wanted to be out of jail to see his mother at Christmas, and he would spend time with his aunt and uncle who were devoted Christians.

He was not concerned about celebrating on New Year?s Eve, and said he had seen an advertisement that might let him work on that night.

?I would love to be out for Christmas. I know I do have the strength to stay away from drugs and alcohol,? Monk told the judge.

The assault with the weapon happened on April 20 when Monk and his partner were travelling in a car with two other people. Monk and his partner argued and even though she was driving, he hit her on the back of the head with a spanner, causing a gash that needed 10 stitches.

Both had been heavily using drugs and alcohol and the partner said she was not aware of the injury because she had was not sober at the time. She has since done a rehabilitation course herself.

On May 9, while on bail, he was discharged from hospital after trying to overdose on prescribed medication. He assaulted his partner because he wanted her to give him his keys and cigarettes.

Judge Farish noted that while in custody, Monk had served the equivalent of a 14-month jail term, and decided to release him under intensive supervision for 15 months with an order that he attend assessment and treatment for alcohol and drug abuse as directed, and complete a Stopping Violence programme.

She ordered that reports be sent to her every three months to monitor his progress. If the reports were not positive, he would be brought back before her for sentence.

Monk was also disqualified from driving for a year.