Police officer climbed into ex-partner’s property
A police officer climbed a fence to get into his ex-partner’s property at night – the second time in a day that he’d travelled across town to her house.
Jacob Alistair Goldsmith, 38, climbed a neighbouring fence at the Hamilton property, then ran off towards an intersection.
And he found himself on the other side of the law after those actions, about 10.30pm on September 22, 2020.
He pleaded guilty in April to being found ‘‘without reasonable excuse in an enclosed yard’’.
On Friday, he was in the dock at Hamilton District Court, and was sentenced to nine months of supervision.
The fence-climbing on September 22 happened the second time he showed up in the vicinity of the complainant’s home, court documents say.
The first time was at 6pm that evening, and she was home with her then partner, court documents say.
About 10.30pm, Goldsmith returned, parked his car next door, and climbed the fence into the complainant’s enclosed yard.
That triggered a security light sensor and made a noise that alerted the complainant – who can’t be named – and a neighbour.
‘‘Upon being disturbed, [Goldsmith] climbed over the fence between the complainant’s address and the other neighbours address on the opposite side,’’ court documents say. ‘‘[Goldsmith] was chased on foot towards the intersection.’’
He had never lived at the property and had no reasonable excuse to be there, court documents say. He is employed as a police officer and had not previously appeared before court.
At the time of the incident he and the complainant were ex-partners, but ‘‘their current relationship status is unconfirmed’’.
The complainant was in court for the sentencing, defence counsel Mike Curran said, and he understood she wanted to stay in contact with Goldsmith.
There had been talk of Goldsmith applying for a discharge without conviction, Curran said, but he’d advised there were insufficient grounds. Goldsmith was seeing a psychologist, Curran said.
Judge Josephine Bouchier said there had been discussions between lawyers on both sides, and sentenced Goldsmith to nine months of supervision. Conditions included doing anger management and relationship counselling, and any other counselling directed.