Offender DatabasesViolent and Sexual Offender
Databases |
Victims MemorialA memorial to those murdered in NZ in the last twenty years
Arabic language summary | 
Chinese language summary | 
Korean
language summary 0900 SAFE NZ (7233 69)
EDUCATE . ADVOCATE . SUPPORT
| SITEMAP(3)Where to find everything here | FAQFrequently Asked Questions | New!New on this site lately |
escalating violence in our community
Become a member of the
Sensible Sentencing Trust
Offender Databases
Sheldon Benge
.
Unprovoked assault on a handicapped man in New Plymouth in December 2005
Assault of a 19 year old New Plymouth man with intent in November 2007
Theft of petrol, driving while disqualified and breach of community work
.
none known
Born 1988
At large in New Plymouth
Sentenced to 16 months imprisonment in January 2008
Release commences September 2008
Background
From the Daily News January 2006
Two New Plymouth teenagers who assaulted a disabled man in the central city just days before Christmas were remanded on bail when they appeared in the district court yesterday. Sheldon Benge (17) and John Ashley Selwyn DeVries (19), both unemployed, admitted the unprovoked attack when they appeared before Judge Louis Bidois. Both men were riding their bikes on New Plymouth's Gill St on December 19 when they began to follow three disabled men.
After abusing the trio DeVries got off his bike and punched one in the head. Benge also attacked the man, hitting him twice in the head. The attack stopped only when a passer-by intervened. Judge Bidois remanded the pair until February 15, warning them bail should not be seen as an indication their sentence would not be a custodial one.
From the Daily News January 2008
A TARANAKI judge has come down hard on street violence by sentencing two teenagers to jail and criticising softer options offered to them yesterday. The judge has a reputation for meting out no-nonsense justice and telling it like it is. In the New Plymouth District Court, Judge Allan Roberts rejected advice contained in pre-sentence reports when he sent a pair of street thugs to prison for beating up people in the city. The probation officer-penned reports had not recommended prison.
Sentencing Sheldon James Benge (19) and Christopher Joel Southcombe (18), for two unrelated incidents, a clearly riled Judge Roberts said community- based sentences or home detention were inappropriate in their cases. "Today the unrealistic reports that I'm getting is staggering," Judge Roberts said. "The message needs to go out . . . I will continue to send people to jail for this sort of offending. "I'm required to ensure that the community is protected from indiscriminate violence by intoxicated men." He described one pre-sentence report, recommending community work, reparation and emotional harm reparation as being "written in a vacuum".
"I consider it thoroughly inappropriate," he said of the recommendation for Benge. "The inability to do community work is ongoing and unabated. This is serious offending. "Mr Benge, time has run out for you." Benge, unemployed, of New Plymouth, was before the judge on a charge of injuring with intent to injure, two charges of theft of petrol, driving while disqualified and a breach of community work. He admitted all charges. According to the summary of facts, Benge's girlfriend was in a car outside Burger King about 10.45pm on November 9 last year when the 19-year- old victim bumped into the car.
An altercation occurred between the victim and Benge's girlfriend, before Benge then emerged from the fast food outlet. He punched, then kicked the victim as he lay on the ground, before being told to stop by a member of the public. Benge then dragged the man by his clothes on to the footpath and punched him in the face. The victim's injuries included cuts, bruising and swelling on his face and head, and a chipped tooth, as well as grazed arms and hands. "And this man has only got sight in one eye," Judge Roberts told Benge.
"So when he was trying to protect his eye while on the ground, all he was thinking was, 'What if I lose the sight in this eye too?' "But that would not have crossed your mind, would it?" Judge Roberts described the attack as gratuitous street violence and something which was happening all too often, particularly people getting beaten when they were on the ground. He said the streets of Taranaki were not safe at night. Benge was sentenced to a total of 16 months' prison. "There is a degree of remorse, but it's too little too late."
From the Daily News January 2006
A SOLO mother and her teenage friend will not be sentenced until next year for a brutal assault in a New Plymouth carpark earlier this month. Nichole Mary Nuku (20) and Sheldon James Benge (19), admitted a charge of injuring with intent when they appeared in the New Plymouth District Court yesterday. Benge, a New Plymouth process worker, also admitted two charges of stealing petrol, worth $142, from service stations in the city. Nuku had been sitting in her car outside Burger King on November 9 when the 19-year-old assault victim bumped into her car. After abusing the victim, Nuku chased him across the carpark before he fell on to the footpath on Leach St. Nuku then started kicking and punching the teenager in the head and body before Benge arrived.
Instead of trying to defuse the situation, Benge also started to kick and punch the man, who was left lying on the ground with numerous cuts to his face and head, as well as injuries to his stomach and leg. Prosecuting Sergeant Craig Jones said Nuku showed no remorse for what she had done after being arrested, while Benge denied any involvement. Defence counsel for Nuku, Julian Hannam, said his client had no previous convictions and would like the opportunity to meet with the victim in a restorative justice hearing. Visiting Judge John Macdonald remanded the pair on bail for sentence on January 23.
