Woman's nose broken for a dare by teen

A dare was all it took for a Bell Block teenage girl to punch a stranger in the face.

Terenia Lichtwark was convicted in the New Plymouth District Court this week for assault.

The 17-year-old walked up to a woman walking along Devon St and punched her in the face.

The force of the blow broke the woman's nose.

When spoken to by police about the 2am incident on May 4, Litchwark said she was dared by her friends to punch the next person that walked past.

Judge Rob Murfitt dismissed outright defence counsel Turitea Bolstad's request that her client be discharged without conviction because she had gone through a restorative justice meeting with the victim.

"This is just the sort of brutal behaviour that is bringing shame on New Plymouth," he said.

Judge Murfitt went on to say that New Plymouth now had a terrible reputation for street violence and a strong line had to be taken to show that this sort of behaviour would not be tolerated.

"It is only because you are 17 and have no previous (convictions) that you are not going to jail," the judge told Lichtwark.

Instead, she was sentenced to 80 hours' community work and ordered to pay $1500 emotional harm reparation.

- © Fairfax NZ News