A father of nine who assaulted his partner several times has been seriously assaulted by members of the Mongrel Mob in prison and authorities have had to put him in a unit on his own, the High Court at Rotorua has been told.
Robert Haami Boynton, 39, of Matahi Valley,who is already a serving prisoner, appeared in the High Court today for sentencing after previously pleading guilty to four charges of assaulting his former partner - the mother of two of his children.
He was also found guilty of a charge of wilfully attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Justice Ailsa Duffy sentenced Boynton to nine months' jail on the charges of assault and six months on the second charge, to be served cumulatively.
Justice Duffy said Boynton had nine children to three different women. The assaults on his former partner, who is the mother of two of his children occurred in Matahi Valley, Whakatane and at a motel in Auckland while one of their children was at Starship Hospital.
The assaults involved Boynton slapping her in the face, dragging her by the hair, throwing her on the floor and on a bed. During one or two of the assaults the woman was pregnant.
After he was arrested Boynton attempted to pervert the course of justice by telling a family member to give the woman "the bash".
"It's fortunate that there was not more serious injuries. You simply cannot go and fly off the handle," Justice Duffy said.
Justice Duffy said on June 13 last year while in jail Boynton was assaulted by members of the Mongrel Mob and he suffered serious head and facial injuries which required surgery. The physiological impacts of that assault were ongoing and Boynton had to be segregated.
Boynton's lawyer Tony Rickard-Simms said the violence was at the lower end of the scale and Boynton had attended 22 sessions of an anger management course while in jail.
Mr Rickard-Simms said Boynton's children looked up to him and he was seen as a good provider.
