Mother of ten guilty on eight counts of assault

A jury has found a mother of 10 guilty on eight counts of assaulting her children, but they say she is not guilty of another four.

The 37-year-old who has name suppression admitted four more charges of child assault also brought against her at the beginning of the trial.

The jury returned their verdict today after about seven and a half hours of deliberation at Napier District Court.

Throughout the three-day trial the court heard evidence from ten crown witnesses, which relied heavily on the women's own children.

Some of the evidence included the woman smacking a child on his bottom, pushing her daughter, who was carrying a baby, down the stairs and smacking some of her children's hands if they were naughty.

The assaults took place throughout 2014. The woman will be given a sentencing date this afternoon by Judge Warren Cathcart.