Northland man who viciously bashed and degraded partner sentenced to home detention

Brandon Cherrington viciously assaulted his partner on multiple occasions while children from their previous relationships were in the house. PHOTO/IMRAN ALI

A Northland mother was subjected to a prolonged beating by her partner while there were children in the house, including choking her with such force she thought she would die.

The vicious abuse had degraded the woman in front of her children and she had bravely decided that 'enough was enough' after ongoing violence, the sentencing judge said.

The abuse included Brandon Cherrington picking the woman up and throwing her on to the concrete floor, grabbing and dragging her by the hair, and punching her head and other parts of the body numerous times on different occasions.

On one occasion during the assaults, his daughter arrived from her bedroom after she heard her mother crying but was told by Cherrington to "f*** off and get to bed".

He was sentenced to 10 months' home detention when he appeared in the Kaikohe District Court yesterday on two charges of male assaults female, one of assault with intent to injure and another of ill-treating a dog.

Cherrington, 44, was initially charged with intent to cause grievous bodily harm - which carries a maximum 10 year jail term - but police said they would amended the domestic violence charges down to assault with intent to injure (which has a maximum three year jail term) if he pleaded guilty.

He pleaded guilty after accepting a sentence indication given by Judge John McDonald in November last year.

In court yesterday, Judge McDonald said domestic violence or family violence as it was now rightly called, was a scourge in Northland.

Between December 22, 2016 and January 1 last year, Cherrington choked her with both hands inside a bus they stayed in at a campground in Tapotuputo Bay.

On another occasion, Cherrington arrived home drunk and pushed her middle and index finger of her left hand back forcefully. She thought he was going to break her fingers.

He then grabbed her hair and punched her multiple times on the head and face while she told Cherrington to stop.

"You did, not because of the pain you were causing her but because you thought the kids might wake up," Judge McDonald said.

The woman has since taken out a protection order against Cherrington.

"There were repeated punches to the head, there was dragging by the hair, she was vulnerable, you acted in a degrading way towards her with the children at home," the judge said.

On the charge of ill-treating an animal, Cherrington beat his dog over the handlebars of a quad bike which was witnessed by his partner and their daughter. He became angry after his dog killed one of his friend's pigs while being trained to be a pig dog.

Judge McDonald said, in her victim impact statement, Cherrington's ex-partner said domestic violence was not okay and that she mustered the courage to come forward even though she still has flashbacks.

"She said enough is enough and that's what judges are saying too. Everybody in the community say it's wrong," Judge McDonald said.