A Dunedin newsreader guilty of a "horrible'' assault on a woman has been stood down from his position.
Craig David Storey (51) has pleaded guilty to assault with intent to injure and was due to be sentenced at the Dunedin District Court yesterday.
Judge Michael Crosbie said that on September 25 last year, Storey grabbed a 69-year-old woman around the neck and held her for 30 seconds.
"This is horrible stuff,'' he said.
Storey is a newsreader on The South Today which screens on Channel 39 Southern Television, owned by Allied Press.
Allied Press operations manager Daryl Clarkson confirmed Storey had been stood down from the news reading role pending an investigation by the company.
Mr Clarkson was unable to comment further as it was an employment issue.
Defence counsel Andrew More said it was Storey's first conviction of any kind.
"There's a first time for everything, including serious violence,'' the judge said.
"It's worse than a glassing in a pub.''
If the sentencing had gone ahead yesterday, Judge Crosbie said he would have had to send Storey to prison because of the severity of the offence and the fact he had no address at which to serve an electronically-monitored sentence.
Mr More successfully argued an adjournment should be granted so that a Mosgiel property could be assessed by Probation.
The sentencing will take place in August.
Assault with intent to injure carries a maximum prison term of three years.