His victim, aged in her early 20s, spoke of how the “memories and trauma” of what she went through were inescapable.
“As a result, I found myself homeless. A situation that only deepened my sense of despair.”
The stress resulted in her losing half her body weight within just six months of leaving Bryant.
“My body and mind are both depleted. It feels as though I am constantly fighting just to survive.”
She had since left her hometown to feel safe, moving many hours away, but with that came isolation and loneliness.
She then addressed him, stating, “For years you used manipulation and narcissistic tactics to instil fear and guilt with absolutely no remorse”.
“You sit here today, still with no remorse or even acceptance of your actions.”
She urged Judge Marshall not to issue a discharge without conviction.
“I want nothing more than to be safe.”
‘Anger at lack of Uber Eats options’
The two assaults happened on separate occasions in Whangamatā between April 1, 2019 and July 30, 2021.
The offending involving the more serious charge occurred in Auckland on July 3, 2021.
In the first incident, Bryant pushed the victim from steps which saw her fall backwards onto the ground, and in the second, about 18 months later, he pulled her off the bed, pushed her out the bedroom and down the hallway.
On July 3, 2021, the pair and others returned to their Auckland motel after attending an All Blacks' game.
Judge Marshall said Bryant became angry as he was hungry and wanted to order Uber Eats.
He couldn’t find anything he liked so he became abusive, then grabbed her by the arms, threw her on the bed, and got on top of her before putting his hands around her throat and squeezing, pushing her down onto the bed.
The victim’s mother, who was in a downstairs room, heard the commotion and ran to see her daughter with red marks around her neck.
‘He may be barred from working in Australia’
Bryant’s counsel James Gurnick pushed for the Section 106 discharge on the grounds that it would hamper his client’s ability to work in the mines in Perth.
He worked as a drilling assistant at the mine in Waihī but hoped to join other family members already working in the mine across the ditch.
“He currently works in the mines, working shifts which are full-time, and the move to Western Australia obviously opens up more rewarding opportunities for him and his family in the future.”
Bryant was now in a new relationship and had a young baby, but at the time of the offending, he was aged between 17 and 19.
The couple were young and “didn’t understand what it was to be in ... a healthy relationship”.
Gurnick said Bryant would be hampered by Australian legislation, the Migration Act, which requires people to disclose any criminal convictions.
While his drink-driving conviction may not be a problem, the assault charges could ruin his chances at setting up a new life in Perth.
“There really is an appreciable risk that he will be barred from Australia and that will have very obvious and ongoing consequences to him to be able to pursue a career ... in the mining industry.”
‘He’s in control, he’s in charge'
But crown solicitor James Lewis urged the judge to take into account the several aggravating features of the offending; the breach of trust, the vulnerability of the victim, the impact on the victim, and strangling someone.
“It infers that the defendant is sending a message to the victim that he’s in control and he’s in charge.”
He also said there was no evidence that Bryant had plans to move to Australia any time soon and as he wouldn’t be sentenced to imprisonment, he wouldn’t be impacted by the Migration Act legislation.
Bryant’s other reasons for a discharge - reputational damage, mental health, relationship - were simply natural consequences of offending.
‘Tumultuous and eventually toxic’
Judge Marshall characterised their “on and off” relationship as “tumultuous and eventually toxic”.
While Bryant was at a low risk of reoffending, the judge noted his comments in a pre-sentence report in which he denied the most serious assault and said the victim assaulted him during the earlier fight.
“He also claimed alcohol was not involved in this offending but it clearly was.
“There seems to be little by way of remorse, or apology or any steps taken to rehabilitate to date.”
Judge Marshall said there may be barriers to him being able to work in Australia but they were “by no means determinative of being able to get a work visa”.
He also accepted Lewis’ submissions around personal impact and dismissed his application.
Bryant was convicted and sentenced to 12 months' intensive supervision and ordered to pay emotional harm reparation of $3000 at $100 per week.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for eight years and has been a journalist for 19.
