Man wrecks Dunedin home of sex abuser with tomahawk, machete

The defendant - aged in his 20s - appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday, just weeks after the 30-year-old who terrorised his childhood was jailed for more than two years. Photo / ODT

A man who used a tomahawk and machete to smash up the home of the man who sexually abused him will not join his tormentor behind bars.

The defendant - aged in his 20s - appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday, just weeks after the 30-year-old who terrorised his childhood was jailed for more than two years.

After more than a decade of silence, the younger man approached police with wide-ranging allegations, which covered a variety of acts over several years.

The older man was charged and after negotiations between lawyers, some amendments were proposed before guilty pleas were entered.

On November 25, the Crown prosecutor involved in the case summoned the victim so they could explain to him how the case was to be resolved and reassure him he would not have to give evidence at a jury trial.

Counsel Sarah Saunderson-Warner said her client misunderstood the information.

"[He] believed the offender was not going to be held wholly accountable for all the assaults," she said.

At home, he began consuming alcohol and "ruminating" about the impending sentencing.

At 11.30pm, he took an axe and machete and decided to confront the man.

"It's clear you were in a highly agitated and drunken state at the time," Judge Kevin Phillips said.

Once at his abuser's property, he yelled for him to come out before entering through an unlocked front door.

After a confrontation, the man and a woman who was also at the home barricaded themselves behind a door between the lounge and hallway.

The younger man hacked at the door with his hatchet with such force that the blade penetrated the wood and narrowly missed those huddled on the other side.

He then turned his attention to other areas of the house, causing extensive damage to appliances and furniture as well as shattering dozens of window panes.

Outside, he smashed panels, windscreens and headlights of two vehicles then moved on to a sleepout.

He was arrested after backing into a gate on the property.

When breathalysed, the man gave a breath-alcohol reading of 751 - more than three times the legal limit.

He told police: "I went there out of frustration from being a victim ... I am struggling with this; I just want it sorted."

The woman who had been in the house at the time said she thought she would be killed during the ordeal.

The court heard the house was rendered uninhabitable due to the amount of damage caused, and the victims sought $30,000.

Judge Phillips ordered reparation of $6000, to be paid at $30 a week.

The man was convicted of drink-driving and wilful damage and sentenced to four months' community detention and 12 months' supervision, along with a six-month driving ban.