NZ Man Convicted Of Assault, Hedgehog Weapon Charges Dropped
From the archive: published May 29, 2008, 18 years ago. Details may have changed since.
A New Zealand man has been found guilty of assaulting a teenager with (and we’re not making this up) a hedgehog.
According to The Age, Whakatane District Court was told that William Singalargh picked up the hedgehog and threw it several metres at a 15-year-old boy in February. Police reported that the teen was hit in the leg, causing a large, red welt and several puncture marks.
Singalargh was convicted of common assault and offensive behavior and fined $NZ700. The more serious charge of assault with a weapon (the hedgehog) was dropped, despite the clear role of the hedgehog in the matter. The current welfare of the hedgehog is not known.