Neill Douglas Leitch, 62, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after a judge found him guilty of assault.
The assault happened while the defendant was working in his capacity as a community support worker for Pact, and Leitch lost his job after the offending.
The court heard that on July 1 last year, the defendant and his co-worker were caring for three children.
The eldest child had been provoking the younger two and Leitch took one of them, a 7-year-old boy, for his bath.
But the child strongly protested and kicked out at the defendant and used a racial slur before biting Leitch.
The defendant responded by hitting the child on his back, hard enough to leave a mark.
Leitch was originally charged with assaulting a child but the charge was later amended to common assault and the defendant was offered diversion on several occasions, which he repeatedly declined.
Counsel Alex Bligh explained this was because her client denied hitting the child, instead claiming he had only pushed him.
"He did always recognise that he shouldn’t have done it," Ms Bligh said.
"His reaction was disproportionate to what happened."
He went to trial, the court heard, because he believed his actions "may have been justified" in the circumstances.
Ms Bligh said the behaviour was "out of character" for Leitch and there were a number of references supporting him.
"He acted immediately and without thinking and excessively," Ms Bligh said.
In applying for a discharge without conviction, she highlighted the impact the court process had on Leitch’s mental health, the remorse he felt and the difficulties a conviction would cause him when applying for jobs.
Judge Emma Smith agreed the defendant was "horrified" at what he had done and noted his previous commitment to helping vulnerable people through his work.
She agreed a conviction would make obtaining further employment difficult but noted if he tried to work in a similar field, potential employers would be able to see the charge through a police vetting process.
Judge Smith granted Leitch a discharge without conviction and ordered him to pay court costs of $130.
She said while that may be difficult for the public to understand, the defendant’s circumstances were highly specific and the consequences to him ultimately outweighed the gravity of his offending.
felicity.dear@odt.co.nz . Court reporter
