A man who held a hot poker to his pregnant partner's face and body, threatening to kill her once their baby was born, was trying to withdraw from methamphetamine at the time, the Dunedin District Court heard yesterday.
Kahu Jade Rutene (23) had grown up in a culture where violence was "normalised and minimised", counsel Jo Turner said when the former Christchurch man appeared for sentence for threats and violence towards his partner at Balclutha in May.
On two charges of threatening to kill, Rutene was jailed for 18 months, with six months (concurrent) for assaulting the woman with intent to injure her.
Crown counsel Marie Grills said the victim had been a vulnerable target and the offences were of a type and nature that justified a sentence starting at 12 to 18 months' jail, with six months added for prior convictions.
Ms Turner believed a starting point of 10 to 12 months would be more appropriate.
She said Rutene was extremely remorseful for his behaviour, despite a probation officer's assessment of a lack of remorse and a tendency to minimise his offending. He was struggling to escape his background and his addiction and was ready to take steps to help himself. Rutene had been willing to attend restorative justice but that did not proceed as the victim could not be contacted.
In response to a comment in the pre-sentence report that the defendant claimed the victim was "making it up" and that he had pleaded guilty "to get a good deal", Ms Turner said he did not blame the victim at all and he wanted to work towards a life without the sort of behaviour that had brought him to court.
Judge Kevin Phillips described Rutene as "a mature adult with major problems with violence" and major difficulties with drug and alcohol addiction.
He said the defendant and the victim had been living in Christchurch. They were in a relationship, which had deteriorated, Rutene being controlling and abusive towards the victim. About March this year they moved to Balclutha. The victim became pregnant and, during an argument in May, Rutene took a hot poker and held it to her face and body, telling her what he was going to do. She asked him if he was going to act like that when the baby arrived and he said he was going to keep her beside him until the baby was born. Then he would kill her.
The woman decided to leave but, Rutene followed her from the house. He caught her, held her against a wall with his hands around her throat, choking her. The woman's sisters and children were nearby and saw what was happening.
When the woman got into her sister's car, Rutene tried to pull her from the vehicle. He again had his hands around her throat and his nails were digging into her neck. Another sister called the police and, as the officers arrived, Rutene quietly told the victim he would find her and kill her.
The woman was very afraid for the safety of her unborn child, Judge Phillips said. At one stage, because of the defendant's attitude and violence, she considered terminating the pregnancy as she felt she could not bring a child into such a violent relationship. She felt she could not trust anyone and had developed phobias about having anything around her neck.
The judge said Rutene had a bad record of offending, including robbery and violence, which had resulted in prison sentences. And the pre-sentence report described said the current offences as "a continuation of your violence", which was mainly against women.
Giving the defendant a "charitable" credit for his guilty plea, Judge Phillips sentenced him to 18 months' jail, with no leave to apply for substitution of a community-based sentence.
ODT