-
Source: ONE News -
Watch Video
-
Related
The man acquitted of assaulting his four-year-old son says he always believed he had been unfairly treated.
The Supreme Court has quashed the conviction of James Mason, convicted of the 2007 assault of his four-year-old son in Christchurch.
Mason told ONE News today that he knew he had got a "dodgy deal".
"I just knew I was gonna win, I knew what I was saying was essentially right, "he said.
Mason was found guilty at a Christchurch District Court trial last year of punching his son in the face and pulling his ear.
During the trial, Mason denied punching his son but said he did grab his hair and flick his ear. He said he should have been charged with two separate offences, not one for both the punch and the ear pulling.
He was sentenced to nine months supervision and an order to undertake programmes as directed by the Probation Service.
He was acquitted on two other assault charges.
He then unsuccessfully appealed his conviction at the Court of Appeal before taking his case to the Supreme Court.
In its decision released today, the Supreme Court said Mason's conviction must be quashed as two counts of assault had been included in one charge.
It said the jury had been misdirected by the judge and said the case should have been divided into two counts, as it was possible that some members of the jury had found him guilty on the basis of the ear pulling only, and others on the basis of the punching only.
"The special nature of the present case is the distinctly different nature and seriousness of the two alleged assaults and the practical possibility of a particular defence for one of them only," it said.
The inclusion denied Mason the chance to clearly defend the act of ear-pulling.
"It was a jury question whether that action (if proved) was a use of reasonable force to prevent or minimise harm to the child by stopping him from riding his bike down the ramp..."
"But it was exceedingly unlikely that the jury would be of that view if it concluded that the child's face had been punched," it said.
James' wife Ann said the family was now closer than before, despite the stress of the past three years.
"This has brought us closer and possibly brought our family closer together too because we've had to triumph against all this adversity," she said.
Mason's lawyer Greg King said the quashing of his client's conviction was good for the family.
"One of the very pleasing aspects is we now have a young boy who will grow up knowing that his father does not have a conviction for assaulting him," King said.
Latest NZ News Video
-
ONE News Minute 9am update: May 26 (1:00)
-
Kids cough up $14m for Government (1:50)
-
Education ministry 'barbaric' (1:55)
