KEY POINTS:
Nia Glassie's mother Lisa Kuka had an older child seized by authorities several years ago after the child suffered "non-accidental head injuries" - but no monitoring of her subsequent children was ever carried out by Child, Youth and Family.
Child advocates say had the warning signs been heeded, Nia's death on Friday afternoon from horrific head and abdominal injuries could well have been avoided. They say a system that "red flags" potentially dangerous parents needs to be introduced to reduce the high rate of child abuse.
CYF refused to answer questions about what involvement it had had previously with Nia's 34-year-old mother and also declined to comment on whether its protocols could be improved in the wake of the toddler's death. All it would confirm was that the number of notifications it had received last week was up after the national outcry over child abuse - from 3500 calls a day to 3745 a day.
Kuka also did not want to discuss her previous dealings with CYF or why she told hospital staff Nia's injuries were a result of the child falling from her partner's shoulders. In a text message to the Herald on Sunday last week, she said: "People out thea dat know me know dat I love and care 4 my babi wif al my heart."
The Herald on Sunday understands CYF had no dealings with Kuka over Nia, but did act on a complaint of child abuse approximately five years ago involving one of Kuka's other six children. That child was taken into CYF custody and placed in the care of Kuka's sister Donna, who also lives in Rotorua, after CYF inquiries found the child had suffered injuries consistent with a blow to the head. No criminal charges were ever laid, and that child still remains in Donna Kuka's fulltime care, along with two of Kuka's other children, who were placed there by wider family members. Two of her other children were taken into Child Youth and Family custody and placed in the care of extended family after Nia was hospitalised 12 days ago. They are believed to have witnessed some of the abuse on their sister.
Nia's father, Glassie Glassie Jnr, is also believed to be the father of several of the other children but has had limited involvement in their upbringing. He now lives in Australia, but was at Nia's bedside when she died on Friday.
Kuka is one of 17 siblings, and her children's ages range from Nia, 3, to her eldest, who is 16.
Sources close to the family of 47-year-old William Curtis and Kuka's partner, 17-year-old Wiremu Curtis - two of the five accused of abusing Nia - have also confirmed CYF had previously investigated allegations of sexual abuse in that household. They also confirmed Oriwa Kemp, the 17-year-old also charged with assaulting Nia, was the mother of a 2-year-old girl at present in the care of her grandmother - and had associations with the Black Power gang.
Kemp's grandmother did not want to discuss her granddaughter, but was highly critical of Kuka, saying she believed she was well aware of what was going on at the Frank St property. "I just got to be strong. There's a lot of crap going down at the moment."
She felt sorry for neighbours in the area who had been threatened for failing to inform authorities about what had been happening at the address. "Ìt wasn't their fault," she said.
For her part, Kuka refused to say whether she was still in a relationship with Wiremu Curtis, telling the Herald on Sunday in a text message: "Im strong 4 my gurl we bth r."
But Kuka told the Sunday Star Times she wanted was "angry and hurting" and wanted "the mongrels" who tortured her little girl to pay for her death.
"I'm angry there's nothing being done about the mongrels that did this. Them being locked up means nothing to me. I'm just so upset because nothing has been done to them yet."
She felt like she was paying for their crime, she said.
Curtis is the only one of the five currently on bail and reappears in court tomorrow.
The other four accused appear again in the Rotorua District Court on Wednesday. It is likely the assault charges will be upgraded to manslaughter.
Nia's death followed months of abuse and torture, allegedly at the hands of family members, five of whom - including three teenagers - are now facing criminal charges. During that time, police allege, Nia was hung from a clothesline, spun in a tumble dryer and left screaming on the roof of her Frank St home. A post-mortem examination of Nia's body was carried out yesterday and she is expected to return to Rotorua this week to be buried. Police have not ruled out further charges being laid.
Figures released by CYF to the Herald on Sunday last week show in the year to June 30, a total of 4672 cases of child abuse - 46 per cent of the overall total - came from Maori households, compared with 27.8 per cent (2828 cases) from Pakeha families. That number for Maori is up from 45.1 per cent the previous year. The figure for Pakeha is down from 30.7 per cent. Only 2.8 per cent of abused children are Asian and 16.4 per cent are Pacific Island.
Massey University development psychologists say identifying problems in relationships between children and their parents or caregivers is imperative for preventing child abuse.
Associate professor John Kirkland said the key was for agencies to get involved in the inter-personal relationships between adults and children. National's welfare spokeswoman Judith Collins said that to stop child abuse agencies such as CYF had to act sooner - and that meant having "red flag" measures in place to alert them to bad parents. "If you have lost a kid because of abuse then you are an at-risk person and need to be watched." Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro agreed, and suggested hospitals and Plunket have systems in place to alert CYF when women with a history of child abuse or drug and alcohol issues had more children.
Child Youth and Family Minister Ruth Dyson was in Samoa and could not be reached for comment.
At a glance
Child Youth and Family had seized one of Lisa Kuka's children after the child suffered non-accidental head injury - but there were no follow-up checks on other children.
CYF investigated allegations of sexual abuse in the household of co-accused Wiremu and William Curtis.
Wiremu Curtis was only 15 when he began a relationship with Nia's mother, then 32-year-old Lisa Kuka.
Co-accused Oriwa Kemp has a 2-year-old child and associations with the Black Power gang.
Maori child abuse cases on the rise, and make up nearly half of all cases.
