A Kaitangata man backed a stranger into a brothel and hit him nearly 50 times before stealing the victim’s watch, a court has heard.
Peter Graham Ainsley Mullen (21), a shearer, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after pleading guilty to assault with intent to injure and theft.
He said he was embarrassed by his behaviour.
“I’m utterly disappointed in my actions that day and I’m sorry I took out my anger and everything on him,” the defendant said.
The court heard he had been drinking in Dunedin early on April 17 with his 17-year-old friend and three other associates before they parked at Queens Gardens.
While urinating against a public toilet — rather than inside it — Mullen called out to the victim, a man who was visiting the city for the first time and on his way back to his hotel.
Intimidated, the man turned around and walked away.
Mullen and the teen, however, tracked him down and cornered him in the lobby of a massage parlour.
The violence, caught on CCTV, began with a slap from Mullen, which connected with the victim’s head and a punch from the co-defendant, which missed.
The duo backed the man further into the building, aiming more blows at his head and upper body, the court heard.
The defendants tried to drag the victim to the ground but he escaped up a flight of stairs, only to find himself trapped on a landing.
Mullen took advantage of his vulnerability by throwing 38 punches and slaps, in a “frenzied attack” that lasted 15 seconds.
The younger defendant waded in with nine blows and followed them up with four strikes with his knee to the victim’s face.
During the attack, they stole the man’s Tommy Hilfiger watch, worth $329, and once outside the venue they celebrated with a hug, a police summary said.
The victim was left with head and neck pain, as well as emotional trauma over the ordeal.
“It was gratuitous, there was no reason for it,” said Judge Michael Turner.
It emerged during yesterday’s hearing that the unprovoked violence was not the only dubious decision Mullen had made of late.
The defendant confirmed he was unvaccinated and Judge Turner inquired as to why.
“I just don’t find it necessary at the moment. I don’t really want to talk about it. It’s a lot of reasons,” the defendant said.
“Everybody in the country is talking about it,” said the judge. “It’s a deadly virus. If you wait too long and you catch it, you might not be saved ... You’re very much in the minority.”
Mullen was sentenced to six months’ community detention, 12 months’ supervision and 90 hours’ community work.
He was ordered to pay the victim $750.
