A man who hacked his partner's Facebook account in a bid to clear himself of assaulting her, claims he should have been sentenced to home detention.
Peter John Vince (46) was jailed for 22 months when he appeared at the Dunedin District Court last month having pleaded guilty to assaulting a female and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Counsel Andrew Dawson said a month behind bars had been hard on the defendant who suffered anxiety issues.
``He has found it extraordinarily difficult,'' he said.
Vince did not have an extended criminal history and public safety was not a factor in Judge Michael Crosbie's decision to imprison him, Mr Dawson said.
``If prison truly is a last resort, then Mr Vince is not the type of person that needs to be there for this type of offending,'' he argued.
Mr Dawson told Justice Gerald Nation a sentence of home detention would be enough to denounce his client's conduct and deter him and others from similar offending in future.
On January 28, Vince showed up at the victim's house in Mosgiel.
Their relationship had recently ended but he was struggling to accept that, the court heard.
Vince wanted to take the woman to Chinese New Year celebrations in Dunedin and she only agreed when he said he would remove his belongings from her house.
While she was getting ready to leave the house, her ex-partner approached her from behind, grabbed her around the waist and tried to hug her.
As she struggled, Vince threw her on to the bed and pinned her down for several minutes until she calmed.
Days later, he accessed her Facebook account and sent himself a message which implied she had attacked him with a knife.
Justice Nation said the exact sequence of events was important and at the High Court in Dunedin yesterday, new details emerged.
Vince told police he knew of their involvement because he had a police scanner in his car and heard officers being called to the victim's address.
The judge said it appeared the man was ``trying to minimise the potential for being apprehended'' by listening to the movement of authorities.
``It doesn't look good, does it?''
Mr Dawson said he had not spoken to Vince about his possession of the scanner but said there could be a more innocent explanation.
Crown prosecutor Craig Power argued it was serious offending especially in the context of domestic violence cases, which were notoriously difficult to prove.
He said home detention was usually given to people who had expressed remorse and had good prospects of rehabilitation. Mr Power was sceptical as to whether that was the case with Vince.
If the court was to allow the appeal and convert the sentence to home detention, the man would live with his mother, Mr Dawson said.
