Mother saw no reason to report tot's abuse, say police

Jill Tania Tito, who is charged with wilfully permitting the ill-treatment of her 2-year-old son. Picture / Alan Gibson

The mother of a 2-year-old boy allegedly told police she knew two men were regularly assaulting her son but saw no reason to report the abuse.

Jill Tania Tito, 24, has been charged with wilfully permitting the ill-treatment of a child.

Yesterday, the Whakatane District Court heard that police interviewed Tito the morning after her son was admitted to hospital with severe bleeding in his skull.

Detective David McIntosh, who read Tito's statement at the depositions hearing, she said was asked about events leading up to the injury, which happened while the two men were boarding at a house with her and the toddler.

Mr McIntosh said he asked if she knew what assaults called "lags" were and what happened to her son during them.

Tito replied: "They tackle him, but not hard."

She said she would try to stop the assaults when she heard her child scream but the men did not listen.

She did not report the assaults to police. "I didn't see why I should," Tito told the interviewer.

The men had also tackled and body-slammed her, but she was able to do it back.

She had allowed her son to stay in the environment because she was "stupid" and "didn't think it was bad".

She said there had been "heaps" of events leading up to the attack which resulted in her son being taken to hospital.

Community magistrates Kevin Hurley and Heather White committed Tito for trial after she pleaded not guilty to the charge.

She will stand trial in January.

The boy almost died as a result of being bashed on the head by one of the men on September 21.

The toddler is now in the care of Child, Youth and Family and is said to be recovering well.

The court heard that Tito has another child, a 4-year-old boy, who has been in CYF care for 3 1/2 years.

Tito, who cried as some of the evidence was read, told police she wanted to kill Harley Mac Wharewera, the man convicted for the attack that put her son in hospital.

Wharewera was last week sentenced to 10 years in prison for his part in the abuse, which also included twice force-feeding the boy dog faeces.

Kane Jeremy Tawa, who is yet to be sentenced, appeared yesterday as a prosecution witness.

He told the court Tito witnessed some of the "lags" he and Wharewera gave the boy.

Asked by prosecutor Sergeant Adrian Hilterman how she would have known what a lag was, Tawa said, "Because sometimes she'd say [to her son], 'If you don't stop following me, I'll tell them [Tawa and Wharewera] to take you for a lag'."

Tawa said Tito had hit the boy herself on occasions, including once on the head.

Under cross-examination by Tito's lawyer, Roger Gowing, Tawa said he had not mentioned her hitting the child before because he was trying to get out of his part in the crime. He now wanted to "lay everything out".

Tawa answered "no" when asked if he had done anything to protect the boy.

A regular visitor to the house, whose identity was suppressed, said Tito did not look after her child properly, failing to feed and bathe him.

"She didn't look after her son like a mother should."

Tito had been present for some of the assaults, but the men would try to prevent her seeing what was going on, the witness said.

Tito was remanded on bail on the condition that she have no contact with her son unless authorised by the Family Court.