\u201cHe tried to kick and hit me a few more times, then he turned and walked off and circled back and circled back.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was something going on with him \u2026 and I remembered seeing an ankle bracelet on – that stood out to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The attack happened on Worcester St, Christchurch. Photo \/\u00a0Anna\u00a0Heath<\/p>\n
John managed to get away from Whittaker and a woman on the other side of the street called 111.<\/p>\n
Whittaker fled and police arrived soon after. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe police called me later and said that they had arrested him. A few days later I was contacted by a court victim adviser who told me he had been charged with common assault and pleaded not guilty. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe had been remanded in custody and I said I wanted to be told if he was let out. My main concern was that it appeared he lived on the route I take to and from work and the gym and I was concerned for my safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
John told the adviser on March 16: \u201cIf he is released back into the community \u2026 I don\u2019t want to be looking over my shoulder to watch out for retaliation.\u201d<\/p>\n
On May 25 the adviser confirmed that Whittaker\u2019s next date in the Christchurch District Court \u2013 a case review hearing \u2013 was set down for June 8. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou are not required in court,\u201d she told John. <\/p>\n
On June 8 another adviser told John by text message that the case had been resolved. <\/p>\n
\u201cJust letting you know the defendant in your case pleaded guilty today to the charge and was also convicted,\u201d it read.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was sentenced to five months\u2019 imprisonment but was released today on time served as the Judge takes into account how long he was in custody on remand.<\/p>\n
When John queried Whittaker\u2019s release, the adviser said: \u201cPrisoners usually only do half of the time they are given if there have been no issues within the prison while they have been there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Corey Whittaker was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court in June. Photo \/ George Heard<\/p>\n
On June 10, John emailed the court asking for more information about the sentencing and the offender.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the victim of the offence, I am seeking these documents to gain clarity on the official facts accepted by the Court, the exact terms of the conviction, any safety-related orders put in place, and the timeline for any outstanding steps in the process,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
On July 29, John was provided with the sentencing notes. <\/p>\n
He learned that Whittaker had changed his plea and admitted the charge of common assault.<\/p>\n
It appears he was sentenced immediately by Judge Greg Hollister-Jones.<\/p>\n
The sentencing notes are short, comprising just three paragraphs. <\/p>\n
The judge noted Whittaker wanted to proceed with the hearing without a pre-sentence report. <\/p>\n
He briefly outlined Whittaker\u2019s offending, wrongly stating that the victim was on a bike at the time of the assault, rather than the offender.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou took objection to him looking at you. You punched him on the left side of his head and then punched him again on the right side of his head around the temple area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe charge has a maximum penalty of one year\u2019s imprisonment. This is lower to mid-range offending for the charge of common assault.<\/p>\n
\u201cI take a starting point of five months\u2019 imprisonment. I reduce that by 20 per cent for your guilty plea. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou have 18 convictions for violence. So for that reason, there is a 20 per cent uplift and the end sentence is five months\u2019 imprisonment and there are no release conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n
The man who attacked Sam already had 18 violence offences to his name. Photo \/ 123rf<\/p>\n
John was appalled that a violent offender could be sentenced without any input from a victim.<\/p>\n
He said he had clearly indicated that he wanted to complete a victim impact statement; however, at that point police were yet to contact him about that process. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like the victim is just peripheral to the whole thing the whole way through,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
To add insult to injury, John said a week later the police officer in charge of his case made contact to \u201cupdate\u201d him and confirm the offender had \u201cbeen jailed\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said to him, \u2018he\u2019s not in prison, he\u2019s out\u2019, and the officer wasn\u2019t even aware of that,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt just blew me away \u2026 and that\u2019s why I decided to speak out. <\/p>\n
John told the Herald he was disappointed and frustrated by his experience, and worried other people were going through a similar ordeal \u2013 or worse. <\/p>\n
He has since met his MP to discuss his case. <\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had a lot of time to think about my experience and the wider situation, which I suspect is more common than people realise. My concern is broader than my individual case,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to understand how New Zealand\u2019s short-term imprisonment and release regime deals with repeat violent offenders, when release conditions are used, and what protection and information victims receive when an offender is released back into their community.\u201d<\/p>\n
The victim was punched twice in the head by Corey Whittaker – a random stranger – in a Christchurch street. Photo \/ File<\/p>\n
John felt that as an offender with 18 previous violence convictions, Whittaker should have faced more serious consequences. <\/p>\n
\u201cI do believe in rehabilitation, and I don\u2019t think one offence should define someone forever. <\/p>\n
My concern is when violence becomes a repeated pattern,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt some point, if someone continues to offend violently despite previous convictions, sentences and opportunities to change, I think the balance has to shift towards protecting the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time a persistently violent offender is returned to the community, the system is making a judgment about risk. If that judgment is wrong, the next victim bears the consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n
John was not suggesting that \u201cevery repeat offender should automatically receive an indefinite sentence\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I do think there has to be a point where repeated violent offending places real limits on how much discretion the system has to keep returning someone to the community,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u2018Where someone has 18 previous convictions for violence and then commits another violent offence, I think it is entirely reasonable to ask whether that point has already been reached, and when public protection should become the overriding consideration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ministry of Justice chief operating officer Carl Crafter said he was satisfied the court victim advisers (CVAs) had engaged with John appropriately throughout the court process. <\/p>\n
The Ministry of Justice says it is satisfied the victim received the appropriate support from court victim advisers. <\/p>\n
He said the lack of a victim impact statement in John\u2019s case was a matter for police. <\/p>\n
\u201cMore generally, victims should be supported to understand the court process, the outcome of a case, and the options available to them if they need further information.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ministry regularly considers feedback and information about the delivery of victim services to identify opportunities for improvement. Where concerns are raised about a victim\u2019s experience, these can also help inform improvements to the way services are delivered.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe encourage any victim who feels they have not received the information or support they needed to raise their concerns with the agency involved.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhere a concern relates to the court process, a CVA can help the victim understand the process, access available information and connect with appropriate support. Victims can also provide feedback or make a complaint if they believe their rights or expected standards of service have not been met. \u201c<\/p>\n
The Herald asked police why John\u2019s victim impact statement was not completed in time for sentencing. <\/p>\n
Canterbury metro area response manager Inspector Paul Reeves said: \u201cBecause the offender pleaded guilty and was sentenced at his case review hearing, there was no opportunity for the victim to address the court\u201d.<\/p>\n
Anna Leask is a senior journalist who covers Christchurch issues and national crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2008 and has worked as a journalist for more than 20 years with a particular focus on family and gender-based violence, child abuse, sexual violence and homicides. She writes, hosts and produces the award-winning podcast A Moment In Crime, released monthly on nzherald.co.nz<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cHe tried to kick and hit me a few more times, then he turned and walked off and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":642240,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[9331,74,83031,806,17704,32034,89,9218,682,4487,8278,13619,26225,13994,4975,19724,23500,13631,111,43,139,69,17699,16654,314907,13181,91929,72656,312,5161,9343,5424,1337,13118,20424,28561,102],"class_list":["post-642239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-chance","tag-after","tag-appalled","tag-as","tag-assault","tag-assaulted","tag-attack","tag-before","tag-being","tag-christchurch","tag-conditions","tag-convictions","tag-daylight","tag-feared","tag-free","tag-given","tag-impact","tag-never","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-offender","tag-provide","tag-randomly","tag-released","tag-repeat","tag-retaliation","tag-says","tag-sentenced","tag-statement","tag-street","tag-victim","tag-violence","tag-violent","tag-walks","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=642239"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/642239\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/642240"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=642239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=642239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=642239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}