After hearing about a schoolyard argument involving his son, a 30-year-old man and his friend planned a “cowardly and callous” vigilante attack on a child, waiting for him outside school and then beating him to the ground.
A year on, the 13-year-old victim is still so traumatised that he no longer walks home from his Whangārei school, and spends his days locked in his bedroom.
This week, the attacker, Royden Atkinson, appeared in Whangārei District Court for sentencing on one charge of threatening to kill and one charge of injuring with intent to injure.
Judge Gene Tomlinson said the Woodhill man’s behaviour was despicable and his acquaintances also needed to “take a good hard look at themselves”.
The court heard the victim had allegedly pushed Atkinson’s son while the students were at school.
On hearing this, Atkinson and a 20-year-old accomplice waited outside the school for the child to begin his walk home.
Atkinson came at the boy from behind, wrapping his arms around his neck and throwing him to the ground.
He proceeded to kick and punch the child in the head, back and stomach and told him: “You touch my son again, I’ll kill you, I’ll follow you home”.
The September 20, 2022, roadside attack was recorded with a phone and resulted in multiple injuries for the boy.
After the attack, acquaintances of Atkinson began to harass the boy and his mother.
The mother told NZME her son was a sheltered teenager who had never committed a crime, spent most of his time gaming at home and was the type of kid who always came home from school on time.
She now lived in fear their home would be invaded.
“This assault was so outside the scope of his world experience. This has shattered our safety.
“The onslaught afterward, threats from girlfriends, mothers ... Facebook posts calling my son a pr*** and he’s going to get hurt real bad. We have not threatened his whānau as they have done us. You’ve beaten a child. Imagine if it is your son beaten and embarrassed on the side of the road.”
The mother said her son had become withdrawn, angry and unhappy and was being re-traumatised constantly.
“He’s changed, he’s in his room constantly. No one cares this massive life-changing event happened to him,” she told NZME.
At court for sentencing, the mother said supporters of Atkinson sat in the foyer talking about appealing the sentence and reading the woman’s impact statement loudly while laughing.
“That is not the behaviour of someone with remorse,” she said.
Judge Tomlinson had to remove a supporter of Atkinson from the court for pulling faces while the mother read her statement.
“I take note you have people around you willing to engage in what amounts to victim blaming, that the child is responsible for another man’s attack on him,” Judge Tomlinson said to Atkinson.
“You need to think of who your friends and relatives are because it’s going to get you in trouble.
Judge Tomlinson described the facts of the case as “despicable, cowardly and callous”.
“Two grown men attacking a 13-year-old boy is thuggery of the worst kind.”
He commended the victim’s compassion after the mother said she wanted Atkinson to feel sad the way she felt sad. The boy had responded “Mum, do you think happy people do that?”
“His real insight and nobility from what I read, his compassion, I got real goosebumps. How can a 13-year-old show more compassion and kindness than adults with schoolyard violence?” the judge said.
Atkinson, who submitted he would not be “safe” in jail due to a health condition, was sentenced to four months of home detention and ordered to pay $400 reparation. He was also put on judicial monitoring for 10 months.
“I’ve given you a chance, you throw that back, no chance ... there will be one answer and one answer only,” the judge warned him.
After the sentencing, the mother told NZME she did not feel like justice had been served.
“It’s a weak sentence and, in my opinion, if you are not safe in jail, then don’t go bashing kids.”
The 20-year-old was earlier granted a discharge without conviction for his role in the attack.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.