CYF places abused boy with parents of his jailed mother

Child, Youth and Family has defended its decision to place a 3-year-old boy with the parents of the child's mother, after she was sent to prison for allowing him to be abused.

Jill Tania Tito, 24, received an 18-month jail term on Wednesday for failing to prevent assaults on her son by two men last year.

The abuse culminated in the boy being beaten around the head with a roll of wallpaper, causing him to suffer severe injuries that almost killed him.

In court, her lawyer revealed that the child is now in the care of Tito's parents.

He was said to be recovering well from his injuries, which had required treatment in intensive care at Whakatane Hospital.

But Judge Christopher Harding said that while the boy showed no overt sign of brain damage, there could be possible long-term effects on his learning ability and emotions. Judge Harding said Tito had been aware that the men were hurting her son but failed to protect him, and therefore bore responsibility for the harm done.

Tito had been allowed supervised contact with the boy before her imprisonment, but the judge said whether it was resumed would depend on her progress in jail and assessment after her release.

She has been granted leave to apply for home detention.

Police already had concerns about Tito's care of the then 2-year-old before he was admitted to hospital on September 21 last year.

Detective Jon McKenzie of Whakatane said the previous month the boy was found wandering alone on a street late at night.

"He was not in a particularly nice state, with crusty dirty nappies," Mr McKenzie said.

CYF was alerted and confirmed it launched an investigation.

Before the probe was complete, the child was admitted to hospital.

Lorraine Williams, the department's general manager operations, said CYF would continue the investigation now that criminal proceedings against Tito and the two men were complete.

She would not confirm that the boy was with Tito's parents, citing the privacy of the caregivers.

But police said that the child was placed with the couple after Tito was charged, and CYF said it was satisfied with care arrangements for the boy.

"The child is in a safe placement and the department remains involved," Ms Williams said.

Detective McKenzie said police initially had reservations about the arrangement, but the parents were taking good care of the child.