Rob Kidd

A man who allegedly demanded cash from a Dunedin dairy and came away empty-handed has been released on bail.

A judge has commended a 7-year-old girl for her bravery after she yelled at her stepfather as he held her mother in a headlock.

A heavily-tattooed gang member has avoided an indefinite prison term following three attacks on fellow prisoners - including one at court.

A man accused of raping a woman on a cruise ship docked in Dunedin has had charges against him dismissed.

A drunken man who bit his ex-partner's head when she was trying to look after him has been called ''cowardly'' by a judge.

An "untreated violent offender" who committed a street robbery and several prison assaults will serve his entire jail sentence before being released.

A man involved in a "vicious, unprovoked attack" in a Wanaka shop has been released on parole with three and a-half years on his prison term left to serve.

A woman whose $17,000 jet ski was stolen by a career burglar says she has ''lost a bit of that Dunedin innocence''.

A man who tried to drag a Dunedin woman into a van for sex is still considered a high-risk sex offender.

A Brazilian who targeted gay men, drugging them then stealing from them, has been labelled ''manipulative'' by prison staff.

A woman whose $17,000 jet ski was stolen by a career burglar says she has "lost a bit of that Dunedin innocence".

When a Central Otago woman beat someone up she was concerned she would not get her children back, so she grabbed an axe and went to sort things out.

A man was caught out trading child pornography when he unwittingly sent videos to an undercover police officer, a court has heard.

A convicted murderer is back in prison after being caught drink-driving for the third time.

A man arrested after a three-month operation in relation to suspicious approaches made towards children earlier this year has been released on bail.

The final member of a trio involved in a pack attack at a tourist hotspot would have been in jail had it not been for his girlfriend, a court has heard.

A woman who sold $35,000 of ecstasy for a gang over four months says she ended up pushing pills because of her own drug debts.

The final member of a trio involved in a pack attack at a tourist hotspot would have been in jail had it not been for his girlfriend, a court has heard.