Sentencing of Whangārei woman who assaulted children exposes disturbing family harm history

The assaults were at the Ōtaika shops last December. Photo / NZME

An aunt who hurled a hot pie at her niece’s face before slapping, punching and swearing at two other children has had her own tumultuous history of violence exposed in court.

The 22-year-old, who has name suppression to protect the identity of her nieces and nephews, appeared in the Whangārei District Court for sentencing on two charges of assault on a child after an incident at the Ōtaika shops in Whangārei.

But during the sentencing, the judge questioned how the woman behaved in such a manner and it was revealed that she was a victim herself and there had been 21 family harm callouts involving her in recent years.

Her offending against the children happened last December when she was sitting in a car at the shops with three nieces and nephews, eating a hot pie.

One of the children began crying because she wanted some. The woman responded by lashing out and throwing it in her face. She then punched one of the children and slapped another, all while swearing at them.

As she stood before Judge Gene Tomlinson, questions echoed through the courtroom probing the depths of her troubled past.

“She was 21 and I think ‘what the hell’s happened? Why would anyone throw a hot pie at a kid?” Judge Tomlinson asked.

As Judge Tomlinson delved deeper, it became apparent her actions were a reflection of her own experiences.

The court heard the Raumanga woman had been marked by police as a family harm victim 21 times in the past four years.

Judge Tomlinson noted the woman had a tumultuous upbringing, marked by frequent hidings and shouldering the overwhelming responsibility of caring for her relatives’ children.

“The answer to my rhetorical question is, ‘what else does she know?’. That has caused me real despair,” Judge Tomlinson said to the woman in the dock.

“In no way do I condone her behaviour but I think how could anyone do that to small children? But it’s what she’s been modelled her entire life.

“What do we expect of our young people who are put in charge of little kids with that going on?”

Judge Tomlinson sentenced her to 12 months of intensive supervision with anger management and will monitor her progress.

Speaking to her directly in the dock, he had some final words of encouragement.

“I want to be the guy that is in the background watching how you go and cheering you on. If you learn some skills and things get good for you, I want to be the person who gets that report and is so stoked I don’t see you again in court.”

Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.