A deportee from Australia has taken just 18 months to rack up a variety of convictions, including for posting naked photos of his ex-girlfriend on Facebook.
Tyrone Shane Thompson Jeffrey (21) was jailed for eight months when he appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to assaulting a female, breaching police bail, threatening to cause damage and a charge under the Harmful Digital Communications Act.
Judge John Macdonald said the defendant had been deported from Australia in November 2017 after serving time behind bars there for attempted robbery.
By August last year, Thompson Jeffrey had been in a short relationship when he lashed out.
After the pair had argued, his then-girlfriend called police and as she did so, the defendant hurled her phone across the room.
He punched the woman in the face then they scuffled on the floor before he left.
The court heard the woman suffered scrapes and bruises but did not require medical attention.
Counsel Pete Tuala said the victim had been "nagging" his client for days about getting a job.
After she had demanded he leave the house, Thompson Jeffrey had reached for a cigarette and she had denied him one, which had sparked the attack.
Earlier this year, the defendant entered a relationship with a different woman.
By May 17 it was over.
That night, Thompson Jeffrey sent the woman a message on Facebook threatening to damage her mother's car.
Just minutes later, the online abuse reached new lows.
Thompson Jeffrey posted nude photos of his ex-girlfriend on a Facebook page with her name attached.
He sent her a screenshot to prove what he had done.
The online group has more than 100,000 members but Mr Tuala doubted any of them saw the images because the defendant deleted them after several seconds.
Prosecutor Sergeant Mike Wingfield could not verify the claim and Judge Macdonald accepted the defence claim of brevity.
Mr Tuala said the pair had been in an on-off relationship and Thompson Jeffrey was "trying to get her attention".
The victim was "angry and upset" by what happened but was adamant she would put it behind her, the judge said.
Thompson Jeffrey had three children in Australia and limited family support in New Zealand.
There was no address at which he could serve an electronically monitored sentence, his counsel said.
