A comedian who admitted to sexually assaulting his daughter has been sentenced to eight months home detention.
The man, who has permanent name suppression, appeared in the Auckland District Court this morning.
He had pleaded guilty in March last year to performing an indecent act on a child, but was discharged without conviction in August.
The District Court judge at the time said the consequences of a conviction would outweigh the gravity of the offence against the child, noting the man was a talented comedian who made people laugh.
Following a Crown appeal to the High Court at Auckland in April, Justice Murray Gilbert ruled the comedian should be resentenced.
The offence carries a maximum 10-year prison sentence.
The comedian, his two daughters and his ex-partner all have permanent name suppression to protect the identity of the victim.
Auckland District Court judge Philippa Cunningham last year said the consequences of a conviction would outweigh the offending.
She ruled there was "a low consciousness of action" as he was heavily intoxicated at the time. He was remorseful and unlikely to reoffend.
Cunningham also said despite the suppression order, he had received significant negative publicity.
But in April, Justice Murray Gilbert said he should be resentenced, one of the reasons being that his intoxicated state should not have been a factor in his sentencing.
The charges were laid after in December 2009 the comedian got into bed with his partner after drinking heavily at a Christmas function.
His daughter then got into bed with the pair and man's partner woke to find he had pulled down his daughter's pants and diaper and was kissing her body.
The couple have separated and the man has supervised visits with his daughters.
3 News
source: newshub archive
