Unrepentant assaulter 'would do it again'

A young woman who assaulted another woman told a probation officer she would do it again.

Ashley Deborah Butter, 25, pleaded guilty to common assault in Whanganui District Court on Tuesday. The assault happened one morning in the street, Police Prosecutor Stephen Butler said.

Butter grabbed her victim by the hair, forced her head down and struck her about the head. When the victim's glasses fell off she snatched them up and threw them.

The victim suffered a sore head and shoulders.

Asked about the assault, Butter said she was glad she had finally got the victim, who "deserved it". Her counsel, Raukawa Simon, said it was Butter's background that made her act that way.

She has two children, aged two and five, and wanted to pay a fine as a penalty.

But District Court Judge Dugald Matheson found she already owed $1150 in traffic fines, over two years. He had to consider other options.

Butter told a probation officer that she was not interested in supervision or doing community work, and would do the same thing again. The victim did not want a restorative justice conference with her.

Judge Matheson convicted Butters and asked for a pre-sentence report. She will be back in court on January 10.