The mother of a 14-year-old boy hospitalised after a brutal beating in a Flaxmere Park says a sentence of five months' supervision for his attacker is "bullshit".
Hastings teenager Ayden Kairau spent a week in hospital last year after a brutal assault by another boy his age in Ron Giorgi Park.
Her son's attacker, who cannot be named, was sentenced in the Hastings Youth Court this week to five months' residential supervision, on charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and theft.
Lisa Kairau was working late on October 14 last year when she got a text from her daughter saying Ayden wasn't home.
It wasn't until 3.15am that she answered a knock at the door and found two policemen who told her Ayden had been severely beaten and was in a serious condition in hospital.
Ayden had been at a party in Flaxmere with some friends when the boy, unknown to him, challenged him to a fight and threatened him for the clothes he was wearing.
A parent intervened and told the boy to leave him alone, telling Ayden to take off.
He left the address but as he got close to Ron Giorgi Park another unidentified male approached him and grabbed him by the shirt, dragging him to the park.
A short time later Ayden's attacker ran at him, tackling him to the ground.
He and at least one other person punched, kicked and stomped Ayden about his head and body before removing a raincoat, backpack and cellphone from him.
The offenders ran off when people from the nearby party arrived and Ayden was carried back to the address.
His injuries included a broken nose, black eyes, seven stitches to the outside of his mouth, 19 stitches to the inside of his mouth, loose teeth, and severe swelling and bruising to his face, head and brain that resulted in fatigue, headaches and memory loss.
There were also bruises in the pattern of a shoe sole on his right cheek and forearm.
The now 15-year-old responsible for the attack appeared for sentencing on Thursday where Judge Bridget Mackintosh said part of the teenager's problem was the people he associated with.
"You can often tell a lot about a person by the company they keep."
Judge Mackintosh encouraged him to make wise choices about his friends and sentenced him to five months' residential supervision with an early release date of July 19.
Reparation to the value of $890 was said to be paid off in weekly instalments by the offender's family, who sat in the public gallery at the hearing.
Speaking after the sentencing Kairau said the outcome was "bullshit".
"The justice system is trying to rehabilitate the kids, rather than punish them, but I think they need to be punished before they get rehabilitated.
"There needs to be some sort of consequence otherwise this is just not going to stop. I'm not happy about it."
Ayden still required ongoing dental care more than six months after the attack and now struggled to socialise, she said.
"Ayden hasn't really left the house much. He definitely doesn't go out at night but he hasn't really hung around his friends a lot because he's scared of big groups of other boys. He's just very wary now and doesn't get out anymore."
Kairau said she still had nightmares about the attack but hoped to return to a normal life soon.
"People need to think about the consequences, it's not just a hiding and then you're the big man, it's an ongoing thing that affects the whole family and friends.
"It's not just my family too, it's his family as well. They need to think about the consequences of their actions. It's about hurting other people and messing up their lives."