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A former Bay of Plenty rugby player has admitted assaulting his terminally ill mother at her Mt Maunganui home this month, but has escaped a criminal conviction.
The 30-year-old professional rugby player, Brendon Daniel, who appeared in the Tauranga District Court this week before Judge Louis Bidois, admitted one charge of common assault through his lawyer, Paul Mabey, QC.
Police reduced the original, more serious charge of male assaults female - which carries a maximum penalty of up to two years in prison - to common assault to more accurately reflect the offence.
The court was told that on the evening of August 8 Daniel lost his temper with his mother, who had spent several hours talking on the telephone, swore at her and then stormed off to his bedroom.
His mother took exception to his behaviour so she took one of his trophies from the lounge, intending to put it in his room, and admonished him again for abusing her.
Daniel, lying on the bed, sprang up thinking his mother intended to strike him with the trophy.
He grabbed her arms and they struggled. He then pushed her and she ended up on the bed with the trophy beneath her.
When his mother picked up the phone to call the police, Daniel wrestled it out of her grasp, and after a few more minutes of arguing he left the house. His mother was not injured.
Mr Mabey successfully argued that Judge Bidois should discharge Daniel without conviction because his actions were tantamount to one push after a heated dispute. He said a criminal conviction was totally unjustified.
The direct and indirect consequences of a criminal conviction on his record were also disproportionate with his actions, Mr Mabey said.
Those include the impact on his long-term plans to pursue coaching and youth mentoring roles in the United States which could see him barred entry if he had a criminal conviction.
Other lucrative offers may also dry up, which would be too harsh a penalty.
This was a view shared by Daniel's mother, who wrote to the court in support of her son. She described him as compassionate, loving and caring.
Mr Mabey said the stresses of their close living arrangements, and the frustration and grief of their situation gave rise to the incident and the media publicity had only added to that.
It was vital the true story finally came out, he said.
"Here is a young man who was the subject of publicity which may well have given the public a very, very, wrong impression that he had beaten up his mother, which is definitely not the case.
"What the public need to know is that Mr Daniel returned to New Zealand from Europe to look after his mother, turning down lucrative overseas contracts to do so, and supporting her through this very difficult time, including financially. And it is not the first time he has done so."
Mr Mabey said the publicity had damaged Daniel's otherwise unblemished exemplary good character and the record must be set straight.
Judge Bidois agreed. "You are not one of those selfish people who puts their career above others and the fact that you returned to New Zealand not just once but several times to care for your mother is something you can be very proud of.
" Bay of Plenty Times
