A woman's jaw and teeth were broken by the man she believed to be her long-lost father, the High Court in Auckland has been told.
Petar Vitali, 59, was sentenced to five years and six months in prison for injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm when he appeared before Justice Brown on Tuesday.
The woman said in a victim impact statement she believed Vitali was her father and began living with him in 2012.
However, the relationship was volatile and she was subjected to a vicious attack after an argument about cigarettes, Justice Brown said. Vitali throttled the woman with a belt, punched her in the mouth and held her head under water.
She was found several hours later hiding under a truck, and Vitali initially told police she had received the injuries after trying to commit suicide.
The court was told Vitali, who has more than 40 previous convictions dating back to the 1970s, had treated the 28-year-old woman as his daughter, but the pair lived in a volatile romantic relationship in 2012.
Justice Brown imposed a minimum non-parole period of three years and six months.
