Community leaders stunned that abuser is released after serving full prison sentence

The NZ Herald reports:

Community leaders are outraged one of the people who put slain child Nia Glassie in a clothes dryer has been released from prison without warning

What I can't work out is why a warning is needed. Michael Pearson, who abused Nia Glassie, has served his full three year sentence. Community leaders got that warning when he was sentenced - that is, he`d be out in three years at the very longest. So why be "stunned" that he is released after serving that sentence in its entirety? Particularly as his one of his co-accused, Oriwa Kemp, got three years and four months jail - but was out in less than two years.

Perhaps community leaders should also be asking if he is to go back to his chaotic home environment.

If you can't be a stable parent - don't have children

There. The statement is made. By Phil Goff. Yesterday.If you cant be a stable parent, don't have children. We as a community have to find ways to protect our children and give them the best start in life.. By implication, this means that if you cant give the kids the best start in life, don't give them a start at all.

It is appalling that 12,000 CYF kids are found to be abused and neglected every year - this really does have serious consequences. We should be outraged, we have to look at what we are doing as a community.

Oh, and abortion is not the answer. It is better to prevent conception than abortion, particularly when 2000-3000 people suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome(each year) . So kids, be careful when you have sex., don't get anyone pregnant - and if kids go off the rails don't blame CYFS. The main problem is the parents, not CYFS -and part of the context is the increasing stress in families.

If we reduce the number of disadvantaged kids we will reduce the number of criminals of tomorrow.

Thank you for reading. Your comments are welcome.

A half-year of hell in New Zealand - Sue Bradford's legacy

Its all outlined here.. Go read it.

Jimmy Mason would have been convicted even if he had not punched his son in the face, and was charged under the old law

updated
Today , the media reported that Jimmy Mason was convicted of assault for hitting his four year old son, in a case viewed as a test case on the anti-smacking legislation.

It is nothing of the sort.

The court report is here and the case has drawn some debate over at Public Address.

One of the charges Mason faced was for punching his son in the face and "flicking" his ear. Most people seem to think that Mason should have been found guilty for punching his son the face whatever the law - therefore the anti-smacking legislation is irrelevant to this case.

But what about the "flick on the ear". Well, just as the Timaru lady's horse whip was a riding crop, this flick was actually a pull- a good yank. Mason admitted that offence, saying that he was correcting - he calls it discipline - his child. He blew the only two defences he had.

You can't get off an assault charge if you admit you did it, or make a plea on the grounds of corrective discipline. Mason did both. If the charge was just the ear pull, the police would not have have pressed charges if they deemed it to be inconsequential correction. However, had they deemed it to be non-corrective assault, they may well have and Mason would have been convicted.

So I have to take issue with Deborah Morris-Travers of The Yes Vote who, in the context of this case, assumes the new child discipline legislation makes it clearer for judges and juries. First, the law is hardly new. It's been around for a while now. Secondly this case has nothing to do with the anti-smacking legislation, so it can't be part of the test of that assumption, purely because child discipline legislation is as irrelevant as the 1955 Eden Park Trust Act in in this case - even under the previous Section 59 of the Crimes Act.

updateBut I do think it is relevant that a woman cop was walking past at the time, and spoke to Mason. According to the media report of the court case, Mason told her at the scene that he punched his older son. If it was good enough for her to relay that conversation in court (as I believe she did), surely it was good enough for her to tell cop who gave Mason the initial warning what Mason told her. Then charges could have been pressed at that point before Mason blabbed to the media.

Child abuse and prostitution

Make a list of all the child abuse murders in the past five years. Look at the family structure. Put a tick against the families whose adults are not married. Put a tick against the families that are Maori. Put another tick against families that have a beneficiary. Tell the media what proportion of families have at least two ticks, and how many have three.

But just before you do that, contact a Maori and a former prostitute for comment. Two recommendations would be Children's Commissioner Cindy Kiro and Prostitutes Collective head Catherine Healy. Give them the results. Ask them why sex workers are safer on the streets than kids in at-risk families in their own homes. Ask Healy what proportion of street workers are married and non-Maori - and how many were abused as children.

Given that Bob McCoskrie from Family First is accessible to and can access the media frequently, perhaps that's something he could do, given his views on prostitution and child abuse.

Here's a start:

February 2006 3 year old Ngatikaura Ngati suffered heavy bruising and wounds to his arms, legs, chest, face and groin. The mother, 32, and stepfather, 27, each face a charge of murder, child cruelty and failing to provide the necessaries of life. Both found guilty of manslaughter – sentenced to 8.5 years each. Up for parole in less than four years.

March 2007 - A woman whose baby, Cheyenne Petersen, drowned after she allegedly abandoned it in bush near Parua Bay, near Whangarei, pleased guilty to manslaughter She was high on P at the time and later charged with manslaughter. She got a reduced two-and-a-half years prison term as she was a drug addict.

May 2007 26 -year old solo mother of five admitted infanticide after an initial charge of murder was dropped. She was sentenced her to two years' intensive supervision and 100 hours of community work. Supervision includes treatment for alcohol abuse.

June 2007 - Sachin Dhani (16 months) dies after beatingwhile in care of a relative

June 2007 - 28-year-old woman charged with murdering her newborn baby found dead in the backyard of a Te Mome Road property in Alicetown.

June 2007 - Death of 22 month old Tyla-Maree Darryl Flynn from severe burns while being cared for by step-father. A 30 year old man charged but he caused a car accidentkilling another person - possibly while drunk. As he died in the accident he could not be convicted.

July 2007 3-year-old Nia Glassie was brain damaged after months of assaults by stepfather, grandfather and extended family. Her family is backgrounded here.

September 2007 Ten-month-old Jyniah Mary Te Awa died in Starship Hospital after receiving a suspicious "non-accidental brain injury". Tiana Mary-Anne Odessa Kapea, a baby sitter, was convicted of her murder.

November 2007Azees Mahomed, 29, is to stand trial in 2009 for the murder of his 11-week-old daughter Tahani Mahomed. The girl's mother will also face charges of failing to provide the necessaries of life and one of neglect.

1 Jan 2008 Two-month-old Tahani Mahomed died at 5am New Years Day. Police have interviewed her 29-year-old father and 24-year-old mother. Her two-year-old sister was taken into the care of Child, Youth and Family. Her Father (29) was charged with the murder and a 24-year-old woman was arrested and charged with failing to provide "the necessities of life".

April 2008 Three-year old Dylan Hohepa Tonga Rimoni dies of 'unexplained head injuries' while in care of his foster parents April 18, 2008. A 36-year-old woman was charged with murder as well as two charges of causing him grievous bodily harm and assault.

July 2008 - Duwayne Toetu Taote Pailegutu (7). His stepfather Johnny Pukerua Ioakimo Joachim, (37) pleaded guilty to murder. The boy's mother has also appeared in court, charged with failing to provide the necessities of life. CYF twice notified but did not investigate.

December 2008- 16-month old Riley Justin Osborne. Beneficiary stepfather (22) charged with murder.

Here's some cases where nobody was convicted of murder or manslaughter.

* Raiden Niania, 4 months. Father Arthur Niania found not guilty of shaken-baby manslaughter after his second trial. First trial had to be aborted.

* Alyssa Wilson, 4 months old. Father - boxer and playstation addict went through three trials, the last of which was aborted. No further trials so charge withdrawn. No one will ever be held accountable.

* Chris and Cru Kahui, 3 months. Father Chris Kahui charged with murder but found not guilty. No one else is expected to face charges.

UPDATE Well, that didn't take long - another child dies - under CYFS care. More details when they come to hand.

This is why the Office of the Children's Commissioner needs to go or be radically changed

Most would have heard of the news that Wiremu and Michael Curtis have been found guilty of the murder of Nia Glassie, with her mother, Lisa Kuku, guilty of manslaughter. Curtis had been in a relationship with Kuku The brothers were found guilty of spinning the child on a clothesline and guilty of wilful ill-treatment by putting her in a tumbledryer.

The Office of the Children's Commissioner say that justice has been done. But then this:

New Zealand has a high tolerance to violence and much of the violence towards children is perpetrated in the name of discipline. There are no acceptable ways of hitting children.
“To protect children we need to focus on quality parenting.

It is utterly disgraceful linking this case to discipline and parenting when one of the people who fatally kicked Nia Glassie in the head was not even the parent. But I spoke with Josie Vidal from the Office of the Children's Commissioner and she told me that it was her opinion that in many cases like this, children suffer such abuse after being disciplined. Instead of abusing kids, parents should seeking parenting advice. How?

by picking up the telephone, visiting one of these offices in their area, or searching on the Internet for courses that might suit them.

That's the only advice the Office of the Children's Commissioner can provide. If you beat up your kids and want help you can pick up the phone or search the Internet. That is utterly disgraceful. Of course many don't want help or are not their parents - so won' be eligible for parenting courses. What do they do.

The answer is obvious - they kill kids. And what does the Children's Commissioner do? Write a media release after the decision from the judge and move onto the next item on the agenda.

Read more here

Nationwide counselling service could fit in a large elevator

Got a call from Whats Up today. They wanted some money so that they can run their counselling service for kids who ring up about child abuse, questions on sexual orientation and the like. The service is sponsored by Telecom and the Yellow Pages.

I rung them up to see how long that it would take to answer their phone. I waited 15 minutes as all their "trained counsellors were busy", the ansaphone said in a hip cool voice.

All three of them.

Nationwide.