KEY POINTS:
A Horowhenua man who was jailed for three years for assaulting and neglecting his sons has had his sentence reduced by six months.
Joseph John Wilson was convicted in October 2006, after a jury trial in Palmerston North District Court, on counts of assaulting and wilfully ill-treating each of his two sons when they were in his care in 2002 and 2003.
The boys were aged 10-12 and nine at the time and were subjected to regular physical assaults, including punching and kicking to the head and body. They were neglected in terms of clothing, food and medical care and were made on occasion to smoke marijuana.
Wilson appealed his convictions and three-year jail sentence, which he said was manifestly excessive.
In a Court of Appeal decision released today the appeals against conviction were dismissed.
The court quashed Wilson's three-year prison term and replaced it with one of two years and six months.
It said sentencing for this type of offending was "always difficult and a matter of deep concern".
It said Wilson's mental health had deteriorated since the trial.
"The appellant's inadequacy in respect of the care, particularly of his younger son, and the consequences of his loss of the boys' care are consequences of his mental condition which require a merciful response," the court said.
For that reason the shorter sentence was imposed.
- NZPA
