Shannon Stace Gale, 47, Rebecca Ann Melrose, 37, Stephen John Whitley, 48, and Jeffrey Stewart Wright, 39, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after admitting their respective roles in the incident on May 18 last year.
The victim called the episode "a deeply traumatic violation" and told the court in a statement she had struggled with migraines and PTSD ever since.
"You may have thought this was just one night, but for me it has changed every single night since," she said.
"You thought you were breaking into a house. What you broke was me."
During legal submissions, the respective counsels aligned their arguments with Probation reports, which recommended non-custodial sentences.
When Judge Hermann Retzlaff handed down short terms of imprisonment, confused looks were shared among the defendants as they realised they were being led to the cells rather than the public gallery.
A police summary noted the quartet, along with the victim, sold firewood through Facebook, but conflict arose over a $340 customer payment, prompting a fiery social media exchange and the subsequent visit to the victim’s home.
She was watching television with her partner and her young son when the defendants announced their arrival with banging and kicking at her front door.
When the woman did not answer, they entered through an unlocked rear door and their animosity was immediately apparent.
"You’ve messed with the wrong people. This is about to get real messy," Whitley said.
When the victim directed Whitley’s attention to the presence of her child he said: "[I] don’t give a f...".
The victim’s partner attempted to take the boy to safety but was pushed on to a couch by Whitley.
As the man escaped with the child, Whitley warned him not to call police.
The three other co-defendants then grabbed the television as the victim attempted to stop them.
Melrose pulled the victim’s hair and pushed her to the ground.
The two men dropped the TV on the victim and Melrose kicked it, the court heard.
As the partner carried the child down the street while on the phone to police, Whitley and Wright gave chase before abandoning the pursuit when it became clear the authorities were on their way.
The four defendants made their escape before officers arrived.
The victim said she now wavered between feeling numb and severely on edge.
"I’ve lost my spark and my confidence," she said.
"It’s like I’m trapped in a cycle I can’t escape."
The woman told the court her ability to parent had been affected and the impact on her son had been drastic.
"The fear has never left me. I no longer feel safe in my own home," she said.
Judge Retzlaff said the "ripple effects" were significant and he stressed the defendants were lucky not to have been facing an aggravated burglary charge.
The principles of deterrence and denunciation were key factors in his sentencing, he said.
Melrose (convicted of assault, wilful damage, intimidation, attempted theft and being unlawfully in a building) got two months’ jail; Whitley (assault, intimidation, threatening language and being unlawfully in a building) got one and a-half months; Wright (intimidation, attempted theft and being unlawfully in a building) got one month and Gale (intimidation, attempted theft and being unlawfully in a building) got 21 days.
