May 18, 2010

20-month jail term overtakes obsession

Darron Michael Lloyd Riwaka?s violent, obsessive behaviour towards his estranged wife has drawn a 20-month jail term.

Christchurch District Court Judge Michael Crosbie told the 40-year-old: ?You have to accept that as far as your partner is concerned, this is over. She has a protection order and it doesn?t matter what you think about it.?

Riwaka, an invalid beneficiary, not only breached the protection order but did it again on Saturday while he was on bail awaiting sentence.

?You haven?t got the message of what this protection order is all about. Those who obtain protection orders are entitled to the protection of them,? said the judge.

Riwaka received a series of jail terms totalling 20 months for assaulting his wife, intimidation, cultivating cannabis, and two breaches of protection order.

Defence counsel Mark Callaghan told the court Riwaka was assessed as having 49 percent brain impairment.

He had contacted his ex-wife at the weekend because he blamed her for the cancellation of a visit with his children ? the first in 10 months.

He said that sadly Riwaka saw the children as a way of re-establishing the relationship with his wife. Mr Callaghan said Riwaka had completed a stopping violence programme and a sentence of home detention could be imposed.

Crown prosecutor Kathy Basire said the cancellation of the children?s visit had resulted from a call to Child, Youth, and Family by Riwaka and was nothing to do with his wife.

Mrs Basire referred to Riwaka?s obsessive nature.

Judge Crosbie recounted the long series of events that led to the jail sentence.

He told of Riwaka assaulting and verbally abusing his wife in front of their children last August. When she screamed he grasped her face to muffle the sound, and afterwards shoved his fingers into her mouth. ?You used abusive and vile language towards her.?

A month later he went to the house, left loppers on her bed, cut the telephone line, poured liquid into her bed, hid her clothing, hid car and house keys, let down the tyres on the car and damaged the vehicle, and changed the password on her laptop computer.

That same day, the police found a hydroponic cannabis operation in a bedroom wardrobe.

His behaviour continued into October when he breached a protection order by sending a text message.

When his sentencing was adjourned recently, he spoke to his ex-wife at the back of the court room, calling her ?a red-faced liar?. He did this in front of the crown prosecutor.

He said Riwaka also sent his ex-wife 30 unwanted texts in the space of 30min, calling her names and saying it was her fault that he was going to harm himself.

There was then a series of calls to her workplace and 13 more text messages until his son told him to stop calling or the police would be called.

Imposing the jail term, Judge Crosbie told Riwaka: ?Nothing excuses such obsessive and abusive conduct particularly while you were waiting to be sentenced by this court.?