A Child’s Life is Worthless in This Country

31st March 2017

“Beating, starving, and locking children in a cupboard is child abuse at its worst and for a judge to suggest there are mitigating factors is disgusting and sends a clear message to society that a child’s life in New Zealand is worthless.” Scott Guthrie.

Manukau District Court yesterday heard how door handles were removed so the 6 children aged 1-8 years of age couldn't leave their rooms also being locked in a wardrobe and sometimes going a whole day with no food. This offending was happening while the father and his partner sat downstairs smoking Marijuana and Methamphetamine.

The 6-year-old had her head slammed into a wall leaving a hole while the 8-year-old had her head repeatedly slammed into the wall and floor not to mention the 3-year-old being lifted off the ground by his ears before being hung from the clothes line by his hands.

Mr Guthrie said “The offending these innocent children have sustained is very much in line with what Moko and little Nia Glassie sustained. I’m just amazed none of the children died.”

Judge Hikaka said there had been " a gross abuse of trust" going on to say the aggravating feature was the "cruelty" of the abuse, in particular taping one of the boys to the clothesline, as well as the violence, the use of weapons, abuse of trust and the extent of harm but in the next breath is handing out discounts for early guilty pleas and mitigating factors!

Scott Guthrie of the Sensible Sentencing Trust went on to say “we understand that the Judge was obliged by law to give the discounts but somewhere sometime a Judge or a politician will need to stand up and call for a law change…..either that or roll over and accept their responsibility for New Zealand’s horrific level of child abuse. Protecting our children must be the paramount purpose of legislation, not trying to reduce the sentence for the offenders.”

Teresa Kataina was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment while the children’s father was given the option of a home detention sentence.

Guthrie said, “Deterrence and punishment are two of the principles of sentencing, both these factors are absent in this sentence so we can now just wait till the next child gets abused.”

http://m.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11827845&ref=NZH_FBpage
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