Assaults by a Dunedin man who twice head-butted a woman before threatening to kill her have brought him a prison sentence totalling 27 months.
Rodger Thomas Kelly (61) was earlier convicted on two charges of assaulting a female and one of threatening to kill her from an ongoing incident at the woman's home.
He was also convicted of a third assault and another threat to kill in Wellington. He back-handed the woman on her face because he objected to the noise she was making while sucking a sweet. And after the slap, he again threatened to kill her.
A jury found Kelly guilty on the five charges after a three and a-half day jury trial in the Dunedin District Court in January but acquitted him on several other related charges.
Judge Michael Crosbie said yesterday the not guilty verdicts had not detracted from the
woman's credibility. She had been ``an extremely credible witness'' during the trial and when reading her victim statement to the court.
The woman said Kelly had traumatised, belittled and degraded her to the extent she lived ``in a constant state of high alert''. She was haunted by suffering ongoing suicidal thoughts and would wake from nightmares, so tormented, she would ``see him hovering over me''.
She had lost her voice, her self-esteem, her trust and her self-confidence and had been ``so shut down'' she had been too frightened to ask for help for fear of what would happen to her.
``I feel isolated, unworthy, powerless, nauseous and totally betrayed,'' the woman said.
And she was physically and emotionally fearful Kelly would return.
Sentencing the defendant, Judge Crosbie said it was clear from the woman's evidence she believed Kelly was capable of carrying out his threats which included ``taking her breath away'' and killing her.
Kelly had denied provoking the woman or using violence against her and did not accept the jury's verdict on the five charges.
The judge said the incidents suggested elements of power and control and he had the sense Kelly was wanting ``this power and control''.
The first head butt was ``not an insignificant assault'' and ``to come back and do it again was simply cruel''. And to accompany the assault by threats that he would do worse showed he had the capability and the intention to follow through with the threats.
The backhander when they were driving had been cruel, gratuitous and demeaning and was, once again, ``you exercising your power and control''.
Kelly was given consecutive prison sentences of nine months on each of the first two assaults and the first threat to kill, with concurrent terms of nine months for the second threat and eight months on the assault involving the back-handed slap.
At the request of Crown counsel Robin Bates, Judge Crosbie made a final domestic protection order in the woman's favour and granted her permanent name suppression.
