80-year-old avoids jail for beating son

An 80-year-old man who claimed he was following biblical teachings after beating his son with an alkathene pipe has escaped a prison sentence.

The New Plymouth man, who has permanent name suppression to protect his school-aged son, was sentenced to nine months' supervision after admitting he was wrong to beat his boy.

On February 12, Judge Allan Roberts had warned the father he was likely to go to jail if he did not mend his ways.

The father had earlier told a probation officer that he would not moderate his behaviour and saw no wrong in using violence.

The sentencing was postponed after defence lawyer Paul Keegan argued that his client had changed his strict method of discipline. The father was attending parenting sessions and had taken part in a family group conference with Child, Youth and Family.

Mr Keegan told the New Plymouth District Court on Wednesday that his client had accepted his actions were illegal and unacceptable.

He told the Herald the father was a very traditional man who had based his discipline on, among other biblical teachings, sections of Proverbs which encouraged stern treatment of a disobedient child.

"This doesn't fit within a modern context. People who still want to have that upbringing are very challenged by the law change and the state telling them how to manage their children.

"It is a very difficult issue ... when you get a person of an older generation who takes a hard line in respect with traditional values. But the court has taken a rehabilitative approach, which takes into consideration his age and his willingness to change his ways," said Mr Keegan.

The son had stolen $1100 from his father and flashed it around school. He had also solicited donations in what was a sophisticated fraud for a boy of his age.

The father's beatings had left marks on the child's skin, but did not cause serious physical injuries.

The boy was taken from the father's custody by CYFS and is living with relatives. Mr Keegan said this had made the father "genuinely upset", and he was working with CYFS to reunite his family.

As part of his sentence, he has been ordered to attend and complete anger management sessions and further parenting classes.