A 14-year-old girl today admitted telling lies about her father snorting "white stuff" off a table, a court has heard.
The girl, who has name suppression, was the first of five children to give evidence via CCTV from an adjacent room at the High Court trial of her parents on cruelty charges in Auckland.
"Did you want the (police) interviewer to think it was P?" defence counsel Paul Borich asked.
The girl replied that she did not know, and she just thought it was "white stuff".
Yesterday, the girl admitted making up a claim that her father had arranged for three men to sexually assault her for $40.
During her police interview in September 2007, the girl said she saw her father talking to three men at McDonald's in Manukau. He then forced her to go to the men, who placed her up against a wall in a Farmer's car park and held her there while she was sexually assaulted.
But later during cross-examination by Mr Borich she said the whole incident was not true.
"Yesterday you broke the camera in the interview room and took off out the door because you didn't want to watch the police interview again. Did you do some damage to the toilets?" Mr Borich asked her.
"Yes," she said.
The girl admitted she told a series of lies in her September 2007 interview.
Defence counsel for the girl's mother, Jo Scott, asked her about what she'd said in the interview about her mother drinking. The girl said she lied about that and her mother did not drink alcohol.
"Would it be fair to say you were naughty sometimes and your Mum and Dad didn't know how to deal with it?" Ms Scott asked the girl.
The girl agreed that was fair.
Crown prosecutor Phil Hamlin asked the girl about a story she made up about her aunts beating her up.
"I said they bashed me. I was nervous about court. I lied," she said.
Her 37-year-old father and 33-year-old mother, who both have name suppression, jointly face multiple charges of assault and cruelty to children and one charge of intentional damage.
The man is also charged with sexual misconduct with his then 12-year-old daughter and injuring her with intent by inflicting repeated blows with a broom.
He is also charged separately with assaulting his children.
All charges related to events between January 2005 and September 2007.
The cruelty charges include wilfully ill-treating the eight children in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering, physical and mental abuse, generating a climate of fear, providing unsuitable housing, causing and maintaining poor hygiene and allowing them to go hungry.
The man pleaded guilty to one assault charge, while all other charges are denied.
The trial which began on Monday is set down for two weeks.
The girl's sister is expected to start giving evidence this afternoon.
Proceeding.
- NZPA
Girl admits lying about father snorting 'white stuff'
File photo / Dean Purcell
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