Former Queenstown bouncer Jonathan Dixon, accused of illegally publishing video of the Queen's granddaughter's husband, will be able to drink and move about as he pleases after his bail conditions were relaxed at an Invercargill court.
Dixon, 42, was represented by John Westgate - his third lawyer in as many appearances - during a pre-trial callover on Thursday on a charge of dishonestly accessing a computer system.
The charge relates to CCTV footage from inside Queenstown bar Altitude, which Dixon uploaded to YouTube.
It showed English rugby star Mike Tindall - who had just married the Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips - partying with an ex-girlfriend.
Dixon also faces a second charge of wounding with reckless disregard, causing grievous bodily harm.
That charge was laid after an alleged bar assault in January, in Queenstown, which left the victim Jordan Sinke, 26, in an induced coma.
Dixon appeared before a jury on that matter last month but it lasted just one court session, before a mistrial was declared. The reasons were suppressed.
Mr Westgate told Judge John Macdonald the strict bail conditions imposed on Dixon were, after nine months, becoming "onerous".
A curfew between 9pm and 7am resulted in police visiting the address he was bailed to at any time during the night, which was waking the young child of the people he was living with, he said.
The condition prohibiting Dixon from consuming alcohol or being on licensed premises was also having a side effect, he said.
Dixon's IT clients often wanted to meet at licensed cafes and he would have to explain he couldn't.
Mr Westgate told the judge Dixon was sober at the time of the alleged assault and had been working in an industry where he was preventing drunk people from getting into trouble.
Crown solicitor Mary-Jane Thomas said that, following several High Court decisions, she found it difficult to argue against the application.
As a result, Judge Macdonald cancelled the curfew and alcohol conditions of Dixon's bail but ordered him to report to the Queenstown police station every Friday between 2pm and 6pm.
Dixon was remanded to reappear in the Invercargill District Court on November 26.
NZN
