Violent offender to walk free after years in prison despite 'risk' to women

WARNING: This story details violence against women and may upset some readers.

A man with an extensive history of violence against women has had his preventive detention sentence quashed after serving about 21 years in prison and will now walk free after being resentenced.

Mark Dean Hoggart was 20 years old in 2004 when he was given the country’s toughest prison sentence for a series of serious attacks on his former partners.

The now 42-year-old choked two of his victims – one for up to seven minutes, relaxing his hands every 30 seconds so she could catch her breath.

He’s been paroled twice and reoffended against his partners each time, most recently in 2019.

Hoggart has remained in prison since, but successfully applied to bring an appeal out of time to the Court of Appeal in 2025. The appeal was granted and his sentence quashed.

The court then directed that he be resentenced.

That’s what happened when he appeared in the High Court at Hamilton this week on the 23-year-old charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, injuring with intent to injure, and threatening to kill.

Justice Mathew Downs said although he had a large amount of information about Hoggart and his history, assessing the risk he now posed “continues to be difficult”.

In 2003, Hoggart seriously beat his then girlfriend and his mother’s partner, calling her a “slapper” and claiming that she had been sleeping with the man.

She asked him why he thought that, and he became enraged, pushing her on to a bed before throwing her into a wall.

He then threw her on to a chair and choked her for up to 10 seconds before she managed to push him off her with her feet.

She ran to the door calling for help, but he grabbed her and threw her on the bed, before grabbing her by the hair and slamming her into the bedroom wall four or five times.

Choking her again, Hoggart told her to confess, or she would die.

“Unsurprisingly, the victim believed she would,” Justice Downs said.

The victim then asked him to kill her a different way, but Hoggart said no, “I want to do it this way”, before reapplying his grip.

She began to see black spots and then indicated that she had slept with the man.

Hoggart released her and asked her where.

He then got a pair of scissors, kicked his mother’s partner in the ribs, and then punched him about the body and head before repeatedly stabbing him around his head and upper torso.

The victim tried to block the blows before running outside, but Hoggart kept stabbing him, striking him in the back of the head twice.

Others at the house tried to restrain him, and he was arrested by police a short time afterwards.

He pleaded guilty to charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, injuring with intent to injure and threatening to kill.

Sentencing him on February 19, 2004, Justice Judith Potter said if she was going to issue a finite sentence, it would be seven-and-a-half years’ jail.

She instead imposed preventive detention and ordered him to serve a minimum non-parole period of five years in prison.

He was granted parole in 2014 and released on February 17 that year.

However, five months later, a woman with whom he had been in a relationship contacted Corrections, concerned for her safety because of his “obsessive” behaviour, claiming infidelity and questioning who the father of the child she was carrying was.

He was recalled to prison.

Hoggart was released again on September 26, 2018, but four months later he tested positive for cannabis.

Mark Hoggart was resentenced in the High Court at Hamilton this week on three family violence charges from 2003.

The following year, he punched another partner in the face and took her mobile phone because she wouldn’t delete some messages.

A month later, he pushed her and followed her when she tried to leave, pulled her hair and dragged her down a bank.

A member of the public saw what happened and flagged down police.

A non-association order was put in place and in August 2020 he was sentenced to nine months’ jail. He was also recalled to prison, where he has remained since.

The Crown argued that preventive detention should be reimposed, as he remained dangerous to women he was in a relationship with, and there was a high risk of him committing a qualifying violent offence, which has a maximum prison sentence of seven years or more.

However, Hoggart, through his lawyer Hunter De Groot, said he wasn’t the person he once was and had learned his lesson.

He emphasised the offending occurred in 2003 when he was 19.

He submitted there was an inadequate basis to conclude that he posed a high risk of committing the specified offences, and urged that he be given a finite sentence, with the consequence being that he serve no further penalty given he’s spent more than 20 years behind bars.

‘Difficult to assess his risk’

Of the five expert reports Justice Down had received, three psychiatrists stated that it was difficult to confirm if he would commit a qualifying violence offence, either by the rehabilitative efforts Hoggart had made or his age.

Another stated that any risk would be reduced if he had stable accommodation and employment.

However, a Department of Corrections psychologist said Hoggart was “at least a high risk” of reoffending.

Although he’d made efforts to rehabilitate, that hadn’t translated into a consistent behavioural change outside of prison.

Hoggart’s risk was exacerbated by a traumatic brain injury that he’d suffered, the psychologist noted.

Justice Downs said Hoggart’s violent history stretched back to 2001, when he pushed, headbutted and slammed a partner’s head into a china cabinet, throwing her across the lounge, kicking and punching her, before strangling her for seven minutes, releasing his grip every 30 seconds to allow her to get a breath.

There were two other similar attacks on women.

Justice Downs told Hoggart he had been in prison for a long time and served a penalty for what he’d done.

He had engaged in treatment, but that work was yet to be tested outside of prison.

“Given this, I consider the evidence would need to clearly demonstrate undue risk for preventive detention to be imposed again.

“The evidence does not clearly demonstrate undue risk.

“Mr Hoggart, I hope you and the community understand what I am saying.

“I am not saying you pose no risk.

“You do pose risk to women with whom you have a relationship with.

“That you have strangled two women is alarming.”

But after assessing all the information, he found that preventive detention was not required and sentenced Hoggart to seven-and-a-half years’ prison.

Given the amount of time he’s already served, he will be released on time served as soon as practicable.

FAMILY VIOLENCE

How to get help:

If you're in danger now:
• Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours or friends to ring for you.
• Run outside and head for where there are other people. Scream for help so your neighbours can hear you.
• Take the children with you. Don't stop to get anything else.
• If you are being abused, remember it's not your fault. Violence is never okay.

Where to go for help or more information:
• Women's Refuge: Crisis line - 0800 REFUGE or 0800 733 843 (available 24/7)
• Shine: Helpline - 0508 744 633 (available 24/7)
• It's Not Ok: Family violence information line - 0800 456 450
• Shakti: Specialist services for African, Asian and Middle Eastern women and children.
• Crisis line - 0800 742 584 (available 24/7)
• Ministry of Justice: For information on family violence
• Te Kupenga Whakaoti Mahi Patunga: National Network of Family Violence Services
• White Ribbon: Aiming to eliminate men's violence towards women.

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Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 11 years and has been a journalist for 22.