A "gratuitous and violent act" was an act of retribution for two Dunedin men who suffered abusive upbringings, the Dunedin District Court heard this week.
On February 12 last year, Kori Joseph Kelly (26) and Isiah Rupert Hosking (30) returned home after a night of drinking.
The defendants suspected Hosking’s father of being in a car accident and under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Angered by this, the pair decided to confront the victim, following him to his address.
Hosking called out for his father and about 30 seconds later he emerged, armed with a baseball bat.
Kelly retrieved a long piece of wood and struck the front windscreen of the victim’s vehicle.
Seeing the baseball bat, the pair retreated, with Hosking throwing a piece of wood at his father’s car, shattering the left passenger window.
The victim turned his baseball bat to the defendants’ car, smashing it multiple times, before being restrained. A struggle ensued, with the victim being taken to the ground. Kelly held the man from behind while Hosking delivered eight blows to his father’s head and four blows to his body.
The victim received further punches and one kick to the head from Kelly as Hosking armed himself with the bat.
Hosking’s father was then beaten with the weapon.
As a result of the attack, the victim sustained bruising and cuts to his head, face, legs and arms, along with a concussion.
Both defendants had a history of complex neglect and abuse, and Hosking revealed feelings of anger and resentment towards his father.
"This was not a normal family relationship as there were a number of issues; violence, drugs, neglect ... gang affiliations," counsel Sophia Thorburn said.
Since the incident, Hosking pursued counselling and was forced to dissect his relationship with his father, realising his actions were "not ok".
Kelly was no stranger to rough times. Counsel Ann Leonard shared evidence of a difficult childhood in which he was forced to take on a "protector" role.
"This is a young man who was exposed to neglect. As a child he suffered abuse, exposure to alcohol at a very young age and was left in charge of his siblings," Ms Leonard said.
Judge Smith called it a "gratuitous and violent attack" but commended the pair for their honesty.
After hearing evidence of the pair’s attempt to rectify their behaviour, Judge Smith opted for a community-based sentence’s rather than imprisonment.
Kelly was sentenced to nine months’ home detention, ordered to pay $1565.87 reparation and was disqualified from driving for 12 months on an unrelated matter.
Hosking received eight months’ home detention and was ordered to pay $215.87 reparation.
