A teenager who had been bullied has avoided conviction for assaulting two schoolmates.
Siobhan Dannielle Morrison pleaded guilty to two charges of assault and one of intimidation following an incident last July when she attacked one teenage girl and hit another one who tried to stop her.
Morrison and the victims were all Wanganui High School students at the time, Whanganui District Court heard on Wednesday.
An argument began and Morrison, then 17, began punching one of the victims in the face.
The second victim tried to pull Morrison away but was also punched.
A teacher from another school broke up the attack.
Both victims suffered bruising to their faces.
Defence lawyer Richard Leith applied for Morrison, who had no criminal history, to be discharged without conviction.
Judge David Cameron said there was "a history of tension between her and at least one of the victims".
"Social networking had been occurring between the individuals, leaving this defendant at times upset and to the point of tears about what was being said about her," he said.
"In the opinion of her father, the level of this and the frequency was such as to amount to bullying."
Judge Cameron said a conviction would jeopardise Morrison's chance to "progress in a career path", and he discharged her without conviction on all three charges.