The man involved in a violent dog attack in Rolleston has avoided conviction and blamed stress for his actions.
He appeared in the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday, a police spokeswoman confirmed to chrislynchmedia.com.
“The charge was dismissed and the man was given diversion,” she said.
The distressing incident was captured on a security camera on Park Lane, near Levi Park, on January 9 and was first reported by Chris Lynch Media.
The footage shows the man striking and kicking a dog as it whimpers, prompting widespread outrage when it was shared online on the Rolleston Community Facebook page.
Selwyn Police launched an investigation and arrested the man several days after the footage circulated.
On January 21, police executed a search warrant at his residential address in Rolleston.
At the time, police said: “Police can reassure the public that the dog is safe and a man has been arrested and charged with animal cruelty.
We would like to thank members of the public for coming forward with information that led to this positive result.”
Justice precinct, Christchurch
Following his discharge, Chris Lynch Media asked the man to comment on the incident.
Speaking to chrislynchmedia.com, he said:
“I work with disabled people around the world.
Honestly, I’m quite stressed even just thinking about the whole situation that I had to go through.
And I really want to stay away from any further comments on this topic,” he said.
“I have to say that I’m really glad that police and our justice system sometimes does a really good job by assessing the situation and giving people a chance to correct their behaviour.
“Under no circumstances am I trying to justify what happened, but I really had a very challenging period, mentally and physically, that affected the whole situation badly and had a serious impact on my life.
I’m really sorry, but very soon I’ll have to go through another surgery, and if possible, I prefer not to come back to any discussion about this for at least a couple of months.”
When asked if he still had the dog, he replied:
“Yes! Dog was inspected and returned to me in a day, as he had no physical harm.”
Diversion is a programme in New Zealand that allows first-time or low-level offenders to avoid a criminal conviction if they complete certain conditions set by police or the court.
These conditions can include attending counselling, completing education or rehabilitation programmes, writing an apology, making a donation to charity, or undertaking community work.
Diversion is typically only offered where police believe it is in the public interest and the offence is not too serious.
If the offender successfully meets all the conditions, the charge is withdrawn and no conviction is recorded.
