Man jailed for pouring toxic paint on woman

A Christchurch man was sentenced to nearly two years' prison today for pouring a can of toxic paint over his ex-partner.

He later sent her a text message reading, "Told the office you'd be late today. You've had a bad hair day".

Nigel John Giltrap, 42, was convicted of one count of assault with a weapon and four breaches of protection orders in Christchurch District Court.

Judge Jane Farish said on October 16 last year, Giltrap's ex-partner had gone out with a friend.

When he saw her he "lost the plot" and threatened her consistently over the next 12 hours. When she approached him in a workshop the following day, Giltrap poured the full can of paint over her head.

Giltrap also breached protection orders by poisoning his ex-partner's lawn to scupper a house sale, sending her flowers and contacting her when instructed not to.

Defence counsel Paul McMenimin argued that Giltrap's behaviour was affected by personal stress at the time of the offences. He said his mother had died from cancer, he was caring for his father who suffers with Parkinson's disease and running a business.

He said the added effect of a broken relationship had left Giltrap in a state of emotional flux.

"His moods swung from angry to remorseful to conciliatory. When he was at his clearest he was genuinely remorseful for what he had done."

Crown prosecutor Claire Boshier disputed his claims.

"It is clear he does not respect court orders and what protection orders are here to do, which is to protect vulnerable people," she said.

She added the victim had to be scrubbed for five hours at the hospital after the attack and still suffers from dermatitis and blurred vision.

Judge Farish said that while she accepted Giltrap had been under extreme stress at the time, he had "seen the protection order as a challenge and took steps to see how you could breach it".

"I need to hold you to account for the harm you caused. The effects on your victim were profound," she said.

He was sentenced to 22 months' custody for the assault and four months for breaches of protection orders.

- NZPA