'Sex assault' victim jailed for bashing

File photo.

A man who awoke to find he was being sexually assaulted has been jailed for a sustained assault on his attacker in which he bound the other man's hands and stomped and kicked him in the head.

Sickness beneficiary Jason Connell, 33, was sentenced to four years imprisonment in the High Court at Wellington today on one count of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The assault happened after Connell had been drinking with the other man, whose name is suppressed, at the victim's house in Kilbirnie, Wellington on January 30.

Connell fell asleep drunk and awoke to find his shirt lifted, his pants and underwear pulled down and the other man lying on top of him.

Believing he may have been raped, Connell responded by punching, kicking and stomping the man about the head, perhaps dozens of times.

He bound the man's hands together to facilitate the attack.

The victim suffered traumatic brain injuries, cuts to his eye, partial amputation of his right ear, a punctured lung, fractures to his jaw and vertebrae, and memory loss that lasted until mid-February.

He underwent surgery and was placed in intensive care in an induced coma, before being transferred to a specialist brain injury ward.

The victim discharged himself from hospital against medical advice in March, and suffers ongoing effects from the attack including difficulties with speech and movement, disfigurement of his ear, and constant ringing in the ears.

Defence lawyer Paul Paino said provocation should be taken into account in sentencing because the victim had assaulted Connell and taken advantage of the fact he was drunk and asleep.

Connell suffered from psychological issues, had poor impulse control and had been disinhibited by alcohol.

Crown prosecutor Jodi Ongley said the attack was "sustained and particularly vicious''.

She said there should not be a significant reduction in sentence due to provocation, but said Connell was entitled to a reduction due to his guilty plea.

Giving his sentence, Justice Ronald Young said Connell had shown no remorse at the time and the "extreme'' reaction far outweighed any reasons for the attack.

But he said it was a difficult sentencing due to the peculiar circumstances.

Connell knew the victim was HIV-positive, and a psychological report found he had poor impulse control.

The attack was an instantaneous reaction, rather than an act of retribution or vigilante justice, and Connell was entitled to a reduction in sentence due to provocation.

Justice Young said a seven-year starting point for sentencing was appropriate, with reductions for his guilty plea and the provocation.