By Amanda Gillies
An abusive mother, who claims Child Youth and Family and the Government failed her, has been sentenced to at least five years in jail for torturing her nine-year-old daughter. Her name cannot be revealed due to name suppression.
She pleaded guilty to 25 charges. Just after sentencing in the Auckland District Court the Government released its ministerial report which included 13 recommendations.
Judge Brook Gibson today said in court the woman’s actions amounted to a very serious volume of assault, “including the use of weapons, mental abuse and sustained cruelty that amounted to torture”.
A machete, brooms and sticks were used. The little girl’s toe nail was ripped off, while salt and hot water was poured on to the wound. Abusive words were written on her body.
Her scalp was partially torn away from her head. She was starved, dehydrated, deprived of medical attention and help.
A year on the Crown says the girl, now 10, is still traumatised.
Crown solicitor Lorraine MacDonald told the court of how the girl still wakes up screaming after having nightmares. She thinks her parents are still there to hurt her and she will not be able to get away.
However, the defence insisted it was not a straightforward case of abuse.
“She was a time bomb waiting to explode, but given back to her mother,” said defence lawyer Lorraine Smith.
The girl was put in CYF care as a baby but she was sexually abused by her caregivers.
In late 2008, she was handed back to her mother and father and was not happy.
The defence told the court the girl tried to poison and kill her father. When that did not work she said he sexually abused her, to which she later admitted she lied but was upset he did not give her money or touch her.
The court heard she put chemicals in the baby's bottle and then lit a mattress in the garage, trying to burn down the house.
“She lit the fire to kill the family,” said Ms Smith.
The defence said the family begged CYF, psychiatrists and ACC for help but nothing happened.
So the mother wrote a letter to Prime Minister John Key who passed it on to Social Development Minister Paula Bennett.
She suggested the girl get into sport and offered six extra counselling sessions.
Ms Smith said it was her submission that Ms Bennett and the Mr Key failed the girl and her mother.
Ms Bennett says the child was failed.
“I say that child was so deeply failed by those very parents that were supposed to protect her, so it's fine to say now that you were failed by someone or the government while you were beating starving and dehydrating your child.”
But 3 News has obtained a copy of a letter Ms Bennett sent to the mother saying she obviously loved her child.
That same mother was this afternoon sentenced to at least five years jail. The father will be sentenced in February.
3 News