The pensioner beaten at the Posie Parker #LetWomenSpeak event has spoken for the first time about the assault after her attacker was offered police diversion.

The 71-year-old told the Herald she was upset when she heard her attacker had been granted diversion for the March incident at Albert Park, Auckland. But she says she wants to sit down with him and talk about why he lashed out.

“In my statement to police, I said ‘the first hit was a freebie, he bowled into me and he hit me’. But from that point, he should have seen that I was an old person and a female and stopped,” the woman, who the Herald has agreed not to name, said.

“The punches to my face were unnecessary and he could have pushed me away.”

The man was initially charged with common assault.

“Had he stopped after the first punch, I would have agreed [with] diversion but the fact he didn’t, made me feel like he should not get the easy out.”

The victim was left with a badly bruised face and head injuries. Photo / Supplied

Last week the 20-year-old attacker, who first appeared in Auckland District Court on April 20 charged with assault and was granted interim name suppression, was due to appear in the Gisborne District Court on June 12.

However, the man had been accepted on the police diversion scheme and an appearance was no longer required.

The diversion scheme is managed by the Police Prosecution Service and provides an alternative to full prosecution. Eligible defendants are typically at the lower end of offending and often where charges relate to first-time offending.

Prominent criminal barrister Marie Dyhrberg KC, speaking to the Herald about diversion generally said it was an opportunity for a person who has made one “moment of madness mistake” to not throw the rest of his life away.

She said diversion would normally be accompanied by an apology letter and often a face-to-face restorative meeting. The offender would also often complete courses, such as anger management and possibly substance abuse counselling.

“The offender would meet with police and sign a contract and be prepared to admit the offence,” Dyhrberg said.

Police said they could not comment while the case was still before the court.

The mum of three who was punched said she wanted to talk to her attacker face-to-face and ask him why he lashed out and where his anger came from.

“I would like to sit across the table from him and ask ‘what did you think you were doing? Why did you think it was okay to punch an older woman like that?’”

Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull, aka Posie Parker, is escorted from Albert Park by security. Photo / Dean Purcell

The woman flew to Auckland on March 25 to listen to what Posie Parker had to say. She admitted that after seeing the news from Parker’s earlier Australian visit, there could be trouble.

The woman also said she was not anti-trans.

“Trans people have always been with us,” she said. “But I didn’t think it was fair the way the trans groups were pushing their agendas...”

The woman said she also had a list of topics she wanted to discuss if picked to speak by Parker.

But things escalated quickly at Albert Park when those opposing Parker pushed through barriers separating the two groups.

“I saw a woman taking down the roped-off area and I put my hand on her and said ‘No this is not fair. This is our space and our turn to speak’,” the woman said.

“She basically laughed at me, pushed me aside, and next thing I got hit in the back of my head.”

The woman said the first hit to her was to the back of her head just behind the ear.

“It knocked my sunglasses off, and from that point I know I sort of staggered away. Everything was black. I can’t remember seeing anything.

“There was bit of a flash of colour and I thought I was going to fall on one of those spiked railings and I thought he was going to hit me again.

“I can’t give an accurate timeline of when he punched me in the back of the head, to when he hit me in the face. I made my way through the crowd, who could see I had been attacked. One guy whispered ‘F*** you’ in my ear as I walked past, then saw the side of my face was purple, and ran off.”

Police later entered the increasingly tense environment to escort Parker to safety and disperse the crowds.

The woman made it to Queen St but soon found she was in the middle of another protest - a Destiny Church gathering.

“Two ladies I’d met at the rally wanted me to go to hospital. I went to the Viaduct and called a cab. There was a St John ambulance there and I asked for an ice pack for my face. I went to the airport and flew back to Dunedin.”

The day after the incident, she said she started to feel ill.

“After two days I started to shake and went into full shock and decided to see the GP, who I asked to document my injuries. The GP told me I had a serious blow to the back of the head, as well as the blows to the face.

“I believe the fact I was wearing sunglasses saved me from a more serious blow to the head.”

Joseph Los’e joined NZME in 2022 as Kaupapa Māori Editor. Los’e was a chief reporter, news director at the Sunday News newspaper covering crime, justice and sport. He was also editor of the NZ Truth and before joining NZME worked for 12 years for Te Whānau o Waipareira.