The six children - aged 6 months to 8 years - were left without either of their parents after they were sentenced for benefit fraud. Photo / Hawke's Bay Today
Six Napier children, split from their parents when the couple were jailed last month for benefit fraud, are being reunited with their father after he successfully appealed his sentence.
Wiremu Kawenga was released from Hawke's Bay Prison yesterday afternoon. However, their mother, Cara Huddleston, remains in Arohata Prison
near Wellington, after her appeal was unsuccessful.
Wiremu Kawenga, 18 months, Mikee Huddleston, seven, Krista Huddleston, six, Rylie Huddleston, six months, Eziah Kawenga, eight, and Viddel Huddleston, three, were picked up by relatives when both their parents were unexpectedly sent to jail last month.
Appeals to the High Court were heard by Justice Graham Lang in Napier yesterday.
Justice Lang decided community work would have been the appropriate sentence originally for Kawenga and re-sentenced him to six weeks' jail. With time served, he was released immediately.
But Huddleston's appeal was turned down.
Kawenga, a shearer who had been on an unemployment benefit, had pleaded guilty to three charges of dishonestly using a document and one each of wilfully omitting to advise Work and Income of his and one of making a false statement, leading to overpayment of almost $7000.
Huddleston admitted two charges of making a false statement and two of dishonestly obtaining a pecuniary advantage, leading to the overpayment of $19,039 in domestic purposes benefits.
The charges stemmed from offences after each applied for benefits during what became a short-term separation, in May and June 2004.
Crown counsel Steve Manning said it was accepted Kawenga should not have been sentenced to jail but added that, had the sentencings, been separate, Huddleston may have been sentenced to a slightly longer term.
During the couple's incarceration, the children have also been separated, living with different relatives.
Huddleston has a home detention application being heard by the Parole Board on July 9.
- HAWKE'S BAY TODAY
