Pro fighter jailed for sex, violent crime
Gave woman a concussion, tried to convince her she was hung over
A New Zealand professional kickboxer granted a bail exemption to travel to Australia in May to headline a fight night after pleading guilty to sex and violent offences has been sentenced to three years in prison.
In handing down his sentence in the Auckland District Court yesterday, Judge Steve Bonnar described Hayden Todd’s offending as disturbing.
Todd, 37, pleaded guilty to charges including sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection with a female older than 16, assault on a female, strangulation and suffocation and injuring with intent to injure.
Judge Bonnar said after reading an account of Todd’s numerous offences he could see “how serious and disgraceful” the offending was.
The judge noted Todd was a professional kickboxer with 50 professional fights and had “significant physical superiority” over the victim.
Sentencing had to “hold you accountable for the significant harm you have caused the victim”, he said.
As part of his offending — which lasted from January 2018 to August 2019 — Todd punched his victim in the head and gave her a concussion. He subsequently tried to convince her she was just hungover.
The victim could not walk properly for a week subsequently, and could not read for months, after she was eventually taken to hospital.
The victim said to Todd he had “almost killed” her.
Judge Bonnar described two strangulations as “potentially lethal”.
Todd’s defence lawyer John Munro said his rehabilitation courses for living without violence, anger and alcohol were the “greatest effort I’ve seen in the courts”.
Munro said Todd had been abstinent from alcohol for three years now and that “alcohol was at the core of [Todd’s] offending”.
Munro was arguing to get Todd’s sentence under the two-year threshold. He sought home detention plus community service, saying Todd had “addressed his demons”.
Todd was scheduled to appear in court in August for sentencing after earlier pleading guilty.
However, it had been delayed several times, including when he was granted a bail exemption to travel to Australia to headline a fight.
The bail exemption was granted in Auckland District Court in May.
At the time, a family spokesperson for the victim said they all felt “really let down by the court process”.
“I’m absolutely dumbfounded that it could even happen. Dumbfounded that his lawyers could even think that it’s a possibility,” the spokesperson said.
“I get lost for words about it because it makes me so angry, and so disappointed in the system.
“We encouraged [the victim] to put her trust in the justice system and I don’t feel she’s got justice at all.
“You think you’re starting to come right and then something like this hits you all again.”
We encouraged [the victim] to put her trust in the justice system and I don’t feel she’s got justice at all.
Victim’s supporter
Todd’s lawyer John Munro refused to comment when approached by the Herald on Sunday prior to Todd’s Australian headline fight in May.
The spokesperson for the victim’s family said the legal process had been an ordeal that has caused “nightmares”.
“The whole thing has been so drawn out that the defence have been able to delay, delay, delay with no consequences to Hayden.
“[The victim] is the one who’s having to deal with the trauma of it all being brought up again, and he’s flying off to Australia. It just pisses me off to be frank.
“It’s been really stressful, and financially as well, I mean the support that she’s had to have, she’s needed from all the members of her family, friends.
“There’s been a lot of people that have been fighting for her but there’s not been any resolution though the courts.
“I don’t sleep, I have nightmares still, and we can’t leave it behind us because we haven’t had a resolution.”
Todd has fought in numerous kickboxing events since he was charged.
Last August, he fought in the King in the Ring 8 Man Series that was broadcast on TVNZ Duke.
If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7, on 0800 044 334 or text 4334.