LATEST: A comedian discharged without conviction after admitting he sexually assaulted his young daughter will be resentenced.

The man pleaded guilty last March to performing an indecent act on the child, who was in bed with him and his wife, but walked away without conviction in September.

Auckland District Court judge Philippa Cunningham ruled the consequences of a conviction would outweigh the offending and said the man was a talented New Zealander.

She said there was "a low consciousness of action" because he was drunk, took into account his guilty plea and said he was remorseful and unlikely to reoffend.

Cunningham also took into account the negative publicity he had received, in spite of his identity and that of his family being suppressed, as well as the impact on his career.

She said the consequences of the incident had been "little short of dire" and that a conviction would compound those consequences.

Letting him go without a conviction meant he could to try and restore his reputation and allow him "the opportunity to persuade people that they should give him work".

It would also help his relationship with his children.

In a High Court decision released yesterday, Justice Murray Gilbert ruled the man should be resentenced.

Gilbert agreed with Crown submissions that the consequences of a conviction did not outweigh the offending, that the judge did not take into account that the guilty plea meant the man had admitted he intended to carry out an indecent act on his daughter, and said the fact the man was drunk should not have been a factor in the original decision.

No date has been set for resentencing.

The impact on the man's daughter was severe, the judgement shows.

According to a victim impact statement prepared by a child psychologist, she has twice been referred to Auckland Sexual Abuse Help since the offending and felt some responsibility for the incident.

The psychologist noted she had developed "a strong sense of doubt about her own self worth".

She was also pulling her hair - a behavioural disturbance" associated with stress.

The man's lawyer, Marie Dyhrberg, would not comment on the decision this morning.

The man and his family have permanent name suppression to protect the girl.

- © Fairfax NZ News