Child raised alarm after brother hit

An 11-year-old girl kept silent about being hit by her parents, but when her four-year-old brother was struck she sought help, a Napier court heard yesterday.

Her cry was answered by a school social worker and yesterday her parents, who cannot be named, appeared in court for sentencing on a total of five charges relating to smacking two of their six children between January 2002 and December 2004.

A jury had previously found the Hastings pair not guilty on three other charges of assaulting their children.

The woman, heavily pregnant with their seventh child, stood close to her husband in the dock as Judge Denys Barry described their daughter's feelings.

"She says she would like you to be able to get back together as a family but says that if you were a family she would like it to be a rule that there was no hitting," Judge Barry read.

"I love my mum and dad but they have to stop hitting me," the girl had written in her victim impact statement.

The judge said the parents had assaulted the girl and her brother with their hand, a broom and a shoe to an extent that was "excessive and unacceptable in the eyes of the community".

Judge Barry reprimanded the mother for under-playing her role in the assaults which she had described as "not as bad as it sounds".

"Clearly you hit these children often. Clearly they were in fear of you. This brings you to the brink of imprisonment," he said.

He said that both parents needed to respect the bravery of their daughter for raising her concerns.

The children, he said, had been taken from their parents in 2002 by Child Youth and Family but had been returned, before being removed from their care a second time in 2004.

Only the couple's youngest child remains in their care now.

Judge Barry sentenced both parents to nine months' supervision and ordered them to attend parenting courses and counselling as advised by their probation officer.

The father also received 100 hours' community work for his role in the assaults.

- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY