South Waikato elderly man attacked after leaving house without pants on

Kamal Ford Norris, 28, was sentenced to eight months' home detention in the Rotorua District Court. Photo / File

An elderly man was attacked and robbed by two strangers after he went outside in the middle of the night with no pants on.

Now the attackers have been sentenced for the incident that left the 71-year-old South Waikato victim "frightened".

Kamal Ford Norris, 28, was sentenced in the Rotorua District Court by Judge Phillip Cooper this week to eight months' home detention.

He had previously pleaded guilty to one charge of aggravated robbery.

Meanwhile, his co-defendant had also been sentenced.

Details of the case can now be revealed after the police summary of facts was released to the Rotorua Daily Post.

About 3am on January 1 last year, the victim was at his home where he lived alone.

He could not get to sleep so he decided to go outside to get some fresh air.

The victim walked outside and noticed a large plywood sheet on the road outside his house. As he was walking down to retrieve it, he realised he was not wearing any pants.

He thought he could quickly pick up the plywood and get back inside before anyone saw him without his pants because there was no traffic on the road, the summary said.

He darted across the road and as he got to the plywood, he noticed two people walking towards him in the distance.

He quickly tried to conceal himself in the bushes but was found by Norris and his co-defendant.

The pair began yelling at the victim calling him a "paedophile" with Norris saying he should "smash" him.

They asked him where he lived and what he was doing, to which the victim pointed at his house across the road.

After seeing the house, the demeanour of Norris and his co-defendant changed as they saw it as an opportunity to get money from the victim.

The co-defendant told the victim they would look around his house and he would have to give them some money. The pair walked up the victim's driveway and he followed because he had no choice in the matter, the summary said.

The victim feared that if he did not find them some money, the pair would assault him.

The co-defendant told the victim: "I'm gonna get something out of you mate," and the victim picked up his debit card and said he would get money out for them.

The three of them walked into town and the defendants told the victim that it was "lucky" he was "co-operating" or it "could've ended badly for you".

On arrival at the cash machine, the victim withdrew $1000 and gave it to them.

The three of them walked back to the victim's property, where the co-defendant told him not to tell police and said it would be the last time they would see each other.

Three days later after seeking advice from his daughter, the victim reported the incident to police, the summary said.

The co-defendant was found a short time later, while Norris was arrested in Matamata on January 9.

In explanation, Norris said the co-defendant had taken a photo of the victim without pants on and the money was offered to delete the photo, while the co-defendant told police that they had "come to an agreement" and after seeing the victim without his pants on, he "had to pay for what he did".

Both of the defendants had previously appeared before the courts, the summary said.

Norris will also have to partake in a rehabilitation programme as part of his sentence and his behaviour will be assessed every three months to report on how he is doing.

Judge Cooper told Norris at sentencing that if he slipped up, he would be sent straight to jail because home detention was the last stop before imprisonment.

He said that at the time of the offending, Norris had hit "rock bottom" but was doing a lot better now and had cleaned up his act.

Judge Cooper granted a sentence of home detention because he believed imprisonment would likely hinder the progress Norris had made, he said at sentencing.

He said Norris' 71-year-old victim had been left "frightened" by what he and his co-defendant did.