The Destiny Church Man Up programme is 15-week rehabilitation-style course that teaches men to "open up, not harden up". But it has been plagued by complaints that its facilitators are teaching participants to blame their victims for their behaviour.

A man who was working for a Destiny Church anti-violence programme when he assaulted a woman has had his sentence reduced on appeal.

George Whichman was at a property operated by the Man Up programme one night in October 2019, where he was working as a property manager.

Man Up is a controversial 15-week anti-violence programme operated by Destiny Church, earlier branded "dangerous" by Women's Refuge amid accusations it promoted victim-blaming.

Whichman, 29, has accrued more than 80 prison sentences since he was 17 and had been working for Man Up following his release from prison in July.

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About 10pm on October 13, he began yelling at a woman staying at the address, according to Justice Ian Gault's judgement following an appeal hearing in the High Court at Auckland.

Whichman then grabbed her, threw her to the ground, pulled her through the lounge and on to the veranda.

While she was being dragged out of the house her head and ankle whacked against the door.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/STUFF Whichman had his sentenced reduced on appeal in the High Court at Auckland.

Once on the veranda, he pulled the woman up by her hoodie and pushed her into a railing, before someone intervened and Whichman left the property.

Whichman said the argument started after the woman broke house rules by smoking methamphetamine and stealing clothes.

He said the woman became aggressive when confronted and he did not intend to hurt her, while he was partly trying to defend himself.

He pleaded guilty a little over a week after the assault.

In the Waitakere District Court, Judge June Jelas said the incident was an unprovoked assault on a tenant who was asleep at the time.

SUPPLIED Bishop Brian Tamaki of Destiny Church has previously criticised the Government for not funding his programme in New Zealand prisons (file photo).

She also noted Whichman was sentenced in the Manukau District Court for various assault offences on 31 July 2019.

Judge Jelas sentenced him to six months prison and a further six months of release conditions.

Whichman initially appealed on the grounds the Judge failed to give credit for mitigating factors, including his employment and good reference from his employer, and his remorse and reconciliation with the victim.

He then filed additional submissions saying the Judge mischaracterised﻿ his offending by suggesting the attack was unprovoked and that he had assaulted the woman while she was asleep.

Instead, he maintained the assault happened while the woman was awake after she advanced "threateningly" at him.

STUFF Recidivist criminal George Whichman was originally sentenced to six months prison in the Waitakere District Court.

​Justice Gault found the Judge "may have slightly mischaracterised Mr Whichman's offending" by saying it was an unprovoked attack on a sleeping person, while this was not in the summary of facts.

While he may have been provoked to some extent, that did not reduce his culpability for the assault, Justice Gault said.

However, Justice Gault said even taking into account Whichman's extensive criminal history, he would not have imposed the two month sentence increase for previous convictions applied by Judge Jelas.

Whichman had not been convicted of any violent offending that occurred since 2016, Justice Gault observed.

"The current offending is much less serious than his previous violent offending. Mr Whichman says he has turned a corner in his life, and the fact he has not accumulated more violence related convictions (or any conviction except for shoplifting) lends some credence to this.

"His character references and employment are also cause for hope that he has support to lead a better life."

Justice Gault said he did not consider another two months in prison to be of benefit to the community or Whichman.

"He has spent a considerable period of his life in prison, so any benefit of being incarcerated, whether that be to deter him from future offending or to offer him a chance for rehabilitation, has surely been felt by now."

Justice Gault found the initial sentence was manifestly excessive, allowed the appeal and substituted a sentence of three-and-a-half months imprisonment.