A man who smacked his 6-year-old son's bottom once with an open hand, resulting in redness and a bruise beginning to appear, had since referred himself to "Stopping Violence" and attended his first meeting, the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday.
The 39-year-old unemployed man admitted a Crimes Act charge of assaulting the boy on June 12. Judge David Ruth remanded him to September 27 to see how he was progressing at "Stopping Violence".
Prosecutor Sergeant Tania Baron said the man was giving his son breakfast while his partner was in bed asleep.
The boy was eating slowly and the man encouraged him to eat faster.
Becoming upset, the boy threw items off the table on to the floor, then stood up and kicked a door.
The man pulled down the boy's pants and smacked his bottom once with an open hand.
The boy screamed, waking his mother.
As a result of the smack, the boy's bottom became red and a bruise began to appear.
The man's explanation was he tried to frighten the boy into behaving and did not intend to injure him. The smack may have been harder than he intended, he said.
Counsel Campbell Savage said the man was now enrolled at "Stopping Violence" and had attended his first meeting.
The child was boisterous and really "fired up" on the day. He sometimes required medication to calm him down, Mr Savage said.
The man's last conviction for violence was in 2000. He had done what he could to rehabilitate himself. He did not use drugs or drink alcohol and kept himself physically fit.
Judge Ruth said the smack was "hard". He was sure the man regretted it. The man should follow through with "Stopping Violence". With a good report in September, it might be possible to deal with the matter by conviction and discharge.
Police asked for the boy's name to be suppressed. To protect the boy's identity, there was also interim suppression of the man's name.
