Peter and Maggie Bentley. Picture / Alan Gibson

Peter and Maggie Bentley. Picture / Alan Gibson

Peter and Maggie Bentley could not believe what they were hearing. The survivors of a brutal home invasion in 2004 had come to the Rotorua District Court to see the man they consider the instigator of the attack get his proper punishment.

Sitting alone amid a sea of supporters of Desmond Mahanga Eru, the Bentleys listened with horror yesterday as he was sentenced to one year and 11 months for a burglary at their rural Te Puke property in August 2004, and for being an accessory after the fact in the home invasion.

Mrs Bentley threw back her head in disbelief as Eru was granted leave to apply for home detention - news which brought applause and cheers from his supporters.

This was not what the couple expected after surviving the attack in which Mr Bentley suffered multiple injuries when he was threatened at gunpoint and savagely beaten with a crowbar and knife, while his wife cowered in bushes outside. "We've got scars of this all over our house, and Peter's face is scarred," Mrs Bentley said afterwards. "He [Eru] carries no scars. He doesn't care. He should be made to care."

Mr Bentley called the sentence a "joke".

Earlier, he told the court of his devastation at the betrayal of trust by Eru, who was working for the couple's cobblestone business.

The 24-year-old had originally denied the charges, changing his plea to guilty on the day his trial was set to begin in March.

Outside the court, the Bentleys told reporters they were appalled by the home-detention decision.

"It was just like a slap in the face, like you don't matter," Mrs Bentley said.

She said she felt angry and terrified at the thought of Eru, who had provided information that led to the home invasion, being allowed out of prison.

Mr Bentley said: "It's not going to protect the employer in any manner or means, or the victim.

"The system is out of whack with people's needs and wants."

Eru admitted telling his cousins, Ronald Dean Hira and Mano James Tamati, that the Bentley home was a good target for burglary, driving them to the property on August 13, 2004.

His cousins, both of whom had extensive criminal records, returned the next day and stole $12,000 worth of property, including two guns. One has not been recovered.