Alcoholic’s attacks on his partner

As a child, Daniel John Gooch grew up watching his mother being beaten and vowed he would never beat anyone himself.

But the 56 year old is now in prison for a violent attack on his partner of 18 years - the second time he had been sentenced for assaulting her.

The summary of facts described Gooch as an ‘‘extreme alcoholic’’ who had been drinking methylated spirits for around 12 months.

Most of their relationship had been trouble free, his partner said in her victim impact statement, but it had become problematic after he started drinking about a year ago.

In December last year, Gooch was sentenced to six months’ supervision for an assault on the woman but a second attack occurred on August 24.

Gooch stood quietly in dock at New Plymouth District Court during his sentencing on Wednesday before asking Judge Chris Sygrove if he could speak.

‘‘As a child I saw my mother get severely beaten and as I grew up I vowed and decided I would never do it myself,’’ he told Sygrove.

‘‘These are the first two times I have ever done that and I am disgusted in myself.’’

Before the second attack, the victim had taken their dog for a walk before returning home, when Gooch became angry at her and accused her of stealing his meths.

Gooch punched the victim several times around the head with a closed first before she was able to get away and escaped outside, where she stayed until she thought he was asleep.

She then went inside to try to clean the cut above her right eye and to get her phone.

But as she went into the bathroom to get a wet flannel, Gooch followed her in and punched her around the head several times with a closed fist.

Sygrove said the woman suffered a 20mm cut above her left eyebrow and severe bruising and swelling to the right side of her face.

During Gooch’s sentencing, defence lawyer Megan Boyde reiterated he was disgusted with himself and had expressed his remorse at a restorative justice conference with the victim.

She said probation services had recommended a special postrelease condition which would mean Gooch wouldn’t be able to live at his home after he was released from prison, as the partner was still living there.

‘‘That is opposed by Mr Gooch as that is the family home where he has lived for 18 years,’’ she said.

She said he was something of an engineer and inventor and had come up with numerous ideas and drawings while in prison on remand, which he wanted to get back into his workshop to start experimenting with.

After giving him the standard 25 per cent discount for an early guilty plea, he gave Gooch an end sentence of seven-and-a-half months in prison.

Sygrove also imposed the special release conditions recommended by probation and granted a protection order against him that the partner had applied for.