Thanked with kicks to the head
A woman who helped a friend and her friend’s son by offering them temporary accommodation in her home was bashed and kicked by them in a spontaneous attack.
Cherie Janine Harris, 50, was jailed for 18 months for the assault on her 55-year-old now former friend when she appeared in the Hamilton District Court on Friday.
Harris’s 19-year-old son, Keenan Harris Sytema, who assisted by kicking the defenseless woman in the head when she was cowering on the floor, earned a sentence of community work and intensive supervision.
The details of the ‘‘miserable’’ assault on their benefactor were revealed in the police summary of facts, which Judge Robert Spear read to the court.
As well as providing the pair with lodgings in her Hamilton home after they had been evicted from their house, the victim also lent Harris her eftpos card so Harris could put some fuel into the pair’s car on January 15 last year.
They’d been living with her for about three weeks. When Harris drove to a petrol station to fuel up, the eftpos card was declined.
Enraged, Harris drove back to the victim’s house and began yelling at her. The woman began yelling back and the confrontation continued inside.
Things suddenly took a violent turn when Harris grabbed her victim by her hair and began punching her in the head. About five blows were landed.
Harris pushed her and the woman fell, hitting her head on the edge of a table. Harris continued her assault, kicking the victim about six times in the head.
Harris called out to her son for assistance and Sytema came into the room, swiftly delivering about five kicks of his own to their benefactor’s head.
The pair fled the building, but not before grabbing and taking the victim’s Samsung mobile phone and a PlayStation 4 console.
Although badly bruised and beaten, the victim phoned police, who quickly found and arrested Harris and Sytema.
The pair were initially charged with aggravated robbery, although this was later withdrawn by the police. They both later pleaded guilty to and were sentenced on charges of assault with intent to injure, and theft.
Judge Spear took note of a presentence report which found Harris had little remorse or empathy for her victim.
‘‘It is serious offending. It’s miserable conduct on your part ... uncharitable when that complainant had taken you in and given you a place to live. That tells me an awful lot about you.’’
Harris needed a sentence that would hold her accountable ‘‘and tells you in no uncertain terms that this conduct is not tolerated in our society’’, the judge said.
From a starting point of 23 months, he made a deduction for her guilty plea.
Sytema was also sentenced on charges of burglary and being unlawfully in an enclosed yard on Kahikatea Drive, relating to incidents on September 11 last year and January 27 this year, respectively.
Judge Spear sentenced Sytema to 200 hours of community work and placed him on intensive supervision for two years.
Sytema had no previous history of violence and had been drawn into the assault by his mother. However, the fact he kicked a defenceless woman who was cowering on the ground could not be ignored.
Judge Spear noted that Sytema had been assaulted while in prison awaiting sentence.
‘‘You have had a taste of what is ahead of you if you continue down this [criminal] path.’’
Sytema and Harris were also ordered to pay $275 each in reparation to their victim.