Woman who assaulted child with wood stays in jail

The woman had appealed her two year jail sentence for assaulting a child with a piece of wood. The appeal was dismissed. Photo / Thinkstock

A woman sentenced to two years' jail after being found guilty of assaulting a child with a piece of wood has lost an appeal against the sentence.

The woman, who was granted name suppression in the Court of Appeal to protect the complainant, stood trial late last year in the Rotorua District Court after pleading not guilty to the charge.

She was found guilty and was sentenced by Judge Phillip Cooper in December. The court was told the complainant suffered a broken arm as a result of the assault.

The woman's lawyer had asked the judge to consider home detention.

The woman lodged an appeal in the Court of Appeal against the length of the sentence which was heard on March 12 before Justices Lyn Stevens, Lester Chisholm and Paul Heath.

In a decision released by Justice Heath it stated the grounds of the appeal was that the sentence was inappropriate and that home detention ought to have been imposed.

The Court of Appeal found that Judge Cooper's evaluation of the need to impose imprisonment to meet relevant sentencing goals could not be denied and the appeal was dismissed.