The man, 35, whom NZME can’t name in order to protect the identity of his son, appeared at the Christchurch District Court for sentencing on Friday.
He faced a representative charge of threatening to kill, threatening to destroy property and threatening to do grievous bodily harm.
On May 28 and 29 this year, the man sent flurries of abusive voice messages to the mother of his child, threatening to kill her and hurt their 11-year-old son.
He told the woman he was “ready for war” and listed off various weapons he would use against her including firecrackers, bombs, knives and bats.
“I’ve only got one box of f***** bullets so may as well blow everything up.”
The man said the woman would appear in the media after he “stuffed” her into a suitcase.
“I’ll cut you in half and put you in a f***** boot.”
“Hopefully I see you at the bus stop so I can plough the f***** car into ya.”
He then began sending abusive voice messages to the woman’s daughter, stating he would slit her mother’s throat and throw a “Molotov” through her garage.
“I’m at a real dangerous point in my life right now where I’m getting ready to kill someone and I f***** mean that.”
“I’m going to kick your f***** mum in the face.”
The man then began making threats toward the family’s social worker, stating he would put a knife in her neck. The social worker became so fearful, she changed the location of her work.
“If you’re listening (social worker) f*** you, you fat wh*** I’ll cut you open and stick an apple in your f***** mouth you pig.”
When the judge asked the man if he wanted to say anything he became emotional in the dock and spoke of how much he cared for his son.
“I just wanted to see my son on his birthday... I thought if I bought him lots of presents, he would want to spend time with me.
“I didn’t realise he just wants to see his dad being a better person.”
The man said spending time in prison has made him realise how “disgusting” his behaviour and language were and he would like to apologise to his son’s mother but understands this needs to be on her terms.
The man’s lawyer Clare Yardley said the messages her client sent were “ghastly and unforgivable”, but he now has a clear mind without the interference of drugs and wants to work as a youth support worker.
Yardley described the man as being at a “turning point” in his life, having cut ties with gangs and getting “clean” from drugs during the two months he spent in custody.
She asked the judge to consider a sentence of community work that would give the man a “positive outlet” and could act as a stepping stone in getting employment.
Judge Murray Hunt said the man’s offending created real anxiety and fear for the victims, particularly the social worker who had to change her location of work as she feared for her safety.
“You were out of control,” he told the man.
The judge said the social worker was just doing her job and didn’t deserve to be treated the way she was by the man. He granted a protection order for both women against the man.
He gave the man discounts for his early guilty plea and history outlined in the pre-sentence report, stating “Things haven’t been easy for you.”
He sentenced the man to 10 months’ imprisonment, granting him leave to apply for home detention if he could find a suitable address. The judge also imposed six months of post-release conditions.
Emily Moorhouse is a Christchurch-based Open Justice journalist at NZME. She joined NZME in 2022. Before that, she was at the Christchurch Star.
