Marc James Taylor, 46, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday and was sentenced on two charges of assaulting a female and assault with intent to injure.
He was earlier sentenced to seven months’ imprisonment for attempting to stupefy and possessing a knife.
The court heard that Taylor’s most recent offending was while he was with a group of people at shearing quarters in Ranfurly on October 9.
The defendant walked up behind a woman, grabbed her and groped her before she yelled at him to stop.
Later, Taylor was seen taking alcohol from a communal fridge. Another woman confronted him, asking him to put it back.
The defendant kicked her in the face, pushed her against a wall and pinned her there with his foot.
A man intervened and there was a further physical altercation between the defendant and his associates.
When the defendant was separated from the group, he reached out and grabbed a handful of the first victim’s hair and held on to it as he walked down the stairs.
The woman who was kicked suffered bleeding from her eye and a swollen and bruised face.
Earlier on January 4 last year, Taylor was socialising at a pub in Cheviot.
He was playing pool with an associate, who had left half a glass of beer on a nearby table.
The defendant dropped a small pink pill into the glass, but bar staff witnessed this and took the glass away before the friend could drink from it.
The man confronted Taylor about what he had done and he became aggressive.
Taylor was restrained by bar patrons until police showed up.
When officers arrived, they found a serrated steak knife in Taylor’s wallet, which he said he used because he did not have any teeth.
He said the victim was his friend and he wanted his drink spiked.
At sentencing for that charge, Judge David Robinson said attempting to stupefy was "an unusual charge and the circumstances are unusual as well".
He said the drug could have exposed the victim to real harm.
Yesterday, Judge Robinson sentenced Taylor to 18 months’ intensive supervision for the incidents at the shearing quarters, noting he had spent nearly a year in custody.
"You’ve been well and truly punished for what you did and through that you’ve been held accountable," the judge said.
He hoped the sentence of intensive supervision would help Taylor deal with issues in his past which caused him to offend.
"Kick the alcohol, kick the drugs, manage the mental health and deal with the demons," Judge Robinson said.
"Commit yourself to taking the different path by complying with this sentence."
