Comedian forced to wait on sentence

A comedian who admitted sexually assaulting his four-year-old daughter will have to wait another week to find out if he will avoid a conviction.

The comedian, who has permanent name suppression, pleaded guilty in March last year to performing an indecent act on a child, but was discharged without conviction in August.

He had got into bed with his partner after drinking heavily at a 2009 Christmas function. His daughter then got into bed and the man's partner woke to find he had pulled down the daughter's pants and diaper and was kissing her body.

A District Court judge said the consequences of a conviction would outweigh the gravity of the offence against the child, noting the man was a talented comedian who made people laugh.

Following a crown appeal to the High Court at Auckland in April, Justice Murray Gilbert ruled the comedian should be resentenced.

The comedian's lawyer, Marie Dyhrberg, argued he should be discharged without conviction, saying a conviction would severely impact on his career.

Crown lawyer Phil Hamlin said a conviction would not be out of all proportion to the offending, noting that he would have permanent name suppression.

He said the offence was serious enough to normally warrant a prison sentence and though the crown was not seeking that, a discharge without conviction would go too far.

Mr Hamlin said the comedian made his guilty plea after an informal indication from the Crown that it would not seek a jail term.

Judge Mark Perkins said he wanted time to consider the decision and he will give it next Friday.