Dakota Nopera Fri Allen was sentenced in the Wellington District Court. Photo / Catherine Hutton
WARNING: This story details violence against children.
A young boy, assaulted so badly he was left with a brain injury, multiple broken bones and damage to his internal organs, still suffers frequent nightmares and struggles to sleep.
Even when he is being tucked into bed, he pulls back to protect himself, expecting to be beaten.
Meanwhile, his sister, who also suffered broken bones as a result of being beaten, suffers from incontinence, which a doctor attributed to the trauma she’s experienced.
This week, details of the “immense physical, emotional and psychological trauma” Dakota Nopera Fri Allen, now 27, inflicted on the pair were outlined by an Oranga Tamariki social worker in the Wellington District Court.
The details were so distressing that she began to cry while reading the victim impact statement prepared on the children’s behalf.
Allen, who inflicted the injuries over six months, claims to have no memory of the assaults, blaming his drug use and “bad trips” for the memory blackouts.
But an alcohol and drug report, prepared for sentencing, suggested he could be compartmentalising what happened.
A pre-sentence report also noted a lack of remorse.
According to the summary of facts, Allen would hit, kick and punch the pair. He also threatened them.
The violence he inflicted left bruising on the boy’s testicles, a cut to the neck, a black eye and bruising to his face and body.
Meanwhile, his sister also suffered bruising and a broken jaw and pelvis.
But the full extent of Allen’s violence was only exposed after they were taken to hospital in March 2024.
Paramedics were called after Allen repeatedly stomped on the boy’s head. The assault was so serious that it caused a seizure and left the young boy initially unresponsive.
Once at the hospital, the extent of Allen’s abuse became clear. The boy had a brain injury and multiple fractures, including to his eye socket, ribs, wrist, forearm, finger, pelvis and jaw. The judge noted the jaw fracture was usually seen in victims of car crashes.
He also had injuries to his liver and kidney, as well as extensive bruising and lacerations.
Meanwhile, his sister required surgery for the broken pelvis.
As the pair spent two weeks in hospital, the police launched an investigation.
Allen was sentenced after accepting an earlier sentencing indication on five charges, including representative charges, meaning it happened more than once, of assault on a child and injuring with intent to injure. He also admitted one charge of causing grievous bodily harm.
He also admitted a representative charge of selling cannabis and another of cultivating cannabis, which arose after police searched the home and found cannabis, growing equipment and a phone, which showed evidence of dealing.
Crown prosecutor Madeleine Story opposed the 73% of sentencing discounts suggested by Allen’s lawyer, Steve Gill, saying they would result in a sentence that was manifestly inadequate given what had happened.
Story also opposed any discount for previous good character, submitting that the level of violence he’d inflicted on the children made him ineligible.
She did agree Allen was eligible for some discount for the two years he’d spent on electronically monitored bail, but told the court the lack of remorse Allen expressed to the pre-sentence report writer was concerning.
Taking all that into account, she suggested an end sentence of four years and nine months was appropriate.
Gill told the court the case was a tragedy for everyone involved. Not only for the children but also for his client, who, before the violent offending, had one driving conviction.
“He’s a clean skin.”
Gill submitted that Allen’s past included violence in the family, gang associations at an early age, and alcohol and drug addiction.
He said his client had been drinking alcohol since the age of 11 and began using hard drugs at the age of 17. He was using MDMA and acid at the time of the offending but had been clean since his arrest.
Gill sought discounts for his client’s significant drug addiction, lack of previous convictions, youth and time spent on electronically monitored bail.
From the victim impact statement, the court heard the trauma that was inflicted will have lifelong impacts on both children, the extent of which is still unknown.
But the smell of coffee still caused the boy distress because Allen forced him to drink it, burning his mouth.
Trips to the supermarket and park leave him scared and worried, fearing he would bump into Allen.
He said he wanted Allen “to go to jail forever” so other kids didn’t get hurt.
The social worker told the court it would take years of psychological intervention for the youngsters to start the process of understanding what happened to them and why.
But the court also heard the girl wanted to be a dancing policewoman, so she could protect other children and teach them how to dance.
“Children are innocent beings, and unfortunately, this innocence has been stolen from them – a part of this life they will never be able to get back,” the social worker said.
Judge Peter Hobbs noted it was clear the offending had a significant impact on both children.
He said the aggravating factors included the serious violence involved, including stomping on the boy’s head. Both victims were vulnerable because of their age and had suffered serious injuries, he said.
He was sceptical of Allen’s claims that he couldn’t recall the offending, given that it happened multiple times over an extended period.
The judge agreed to apply discounts for Allen’s guilty pleas, his drug use, as well as the time he’d spent on electronically monitored bail, which totalled about half of what the defence had suggested should be applied.
Allen was convicted on all charges and jailed for five years and two months.
Catherine Hutton is an Open Justice reporter, based in Wellington. She has worked as a journalist at the Waikato Times and RNZ. Most recently she was working as a media adviser at the Ministry of Justice.