Father pleads guilty to abusing nine-year-old daughter

The father of a nine-year-old girl who was found hiding in a wardrobe covered in bruises has pleaded guilty to two child abuse charges.

The man, who has name suppression, appeared at the Auckland District Court yesterday.

He pleaded guilty to two representative charges of neglecting/cruel treatment of a child and a representative assault on a child.

He will be sentenced in December.

The mother, who also has name suppression, has previously pleaded guilty to 25 charges. She will be sentenced later this month.

Court documents showed she tore the girl's toe nail off and then poured boiling water on the wound.

The pair were charged after the girl was found in November last year hiding in a cupboard, and reportedly starving, dehydrated and covered in countless injuries.

The charges against the woman include assault on the girl with a machete and hammer, kicking her in the vaginal area while wearing workboots, tearing her toenail off and pouring salt on the bleeding toe, and writing abusive comments on the girl's body.