Judge praises whānau support in case of violent attack on unconscious sibling

Ezekiel Maea appeared in the New Plymouth District Court on Thursday. Photo / Tara Shaskey

After a man beat his brother into unconsciousness, causing him a brain injury, their whānau immediately held a hui to repair the siblings' relationship and to support the young offender with his issues.

It is a move that has been praised by a District Court judge and also assisted Ezekiel Maea, 20, in landing a more lenient sentence.

The meaningful way in which the whānau intervention found success was evident at Maea's sentencing in the New Plymouth District Court on Thursday, with him accepting help for his anger issues and his brother attending the hearing in support of him.

The Crown charges of injuring with intent to injure and assault on a person in a family relationship followed an incident on April 17 last year.

Maea was at his brother's house in New Plymouth with his former partner, who was pregnant at the time.

Maea and his ex began arguing and he shoved the woman into a wall.

Maea's brother quickly pushed him out of the room they were all in and shut the door. But Maea barged back in and struck his brother with a closed fist, causing the man to collapse to the ground unconscious.

And he didn't stop there.

As his brother lay unconscious, Maea delivered a flurry of punches to the man's head.

The violent attack only came to an end when Maea's ex forcibly pulled him away from his brother.

Immediately after, the brother was taken to Taranaki Base Hospital where he was admitted for four days with a brain bleed and concussion.

He also suffered memory loss, dizziness and post-traumatic stress, and remained in the care of a medical rehabilitation service for assistance with his recovery.

In court, the matter was heading towards an adjournment so Corrections could canvas options for an electronic sentence.

But following a short break for a court victim adviser to seek the view of the brother, which was in favour of Maea, defence lawyer Nina Laird argued a sentence of intensive supervision could safely be imposed.

She submitted Maea was remorseful, had no previous convictions and noted his youth at the time of the offending.

Crown prosecutor Laura Blencowe said while the assault was serious, she also acknowledged the views of the victim, which was for the matter to come to an end and that rehabilitative programmes were made available to Maea.

Therefore, Blencowe supported an outcome of intensive supervision - a community-based rehabilitation sentence which gives offenders access to programmes based on their needs.

Judge Gregory Hikaka referenced a letter from Maea's aunty detailing the process the whānau had gone through to address the violent incident.

It also touched on Maea's admitted anger issues and the support the whānau would provide him.

Judge Hikaka thanked the aunty and "especially" the brother.

"Everyone is 100 per cent supportive of you," he told Maea.

Judge Hikaka imposed 15 months of intensive supervision which he said would be coupled with the whānau support.

"You've got to appreciate the start point was imprisonment, and I say that to put you in the frame of mind that will hopefully help you take all the help that is offered to you."