Pair plead not guilty in ‘horrific’ Lower Hutt child abuse case, appear in court, mother of kids charged

A mother charged with failing to protect her two small children, who suffered “horrific” injuries, and conspiring to provide false information to police, has denied the charges.

And a man accused of inflicting “severe” damage on the children has also pleaded not guilty.

The pair, both aged 25, appeared in court this afternoon charged in relation to the alleged abuse, which Judge Noel Sainsbury today referred to as “horrendous”.

The children, a boy and girl aged 4 and 5 years old, had to be hospitalised because of their injuries, which included brain bleeds, lacerations to internal organs and multiple broken bones each.

The injuries were discovered after an ambulance took the older child to hospital on March 8. The second child was also examined and both were admitted to hospital, with one requiring surgery.

Police have spoken out about the “horrific” injuries and called on the public to help provide information about the family, which had moved from Waterloo to Stokes Valley just two days before the child was taken to hospital.

The pair who appeared in the Hutt Valley District Court today were arrested yesterday after police executed search warrants at two Hutt Valley properties.

Both have been granted interim name suppression.

A 25-year-old man has been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, wilful ill-treatment of a dog, attempting to pervert the course of justice and selling cannabis and cultivating cannabis.

A 25-year-old woman has also been charged with two charges of failing to protect a child, two charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice and failure to carry out obligations in relation to a computer search.

According to charging documents, the woman is accused of failing to protect each of the children between January 1 and March 8 despite knowing they were at risk of grievous bodily harm from assault.

On March 8, the day the injuries were discovered, she is also accused of texting her now-co-defendant and “directing him to provide police with false information, to which he agreed”, the charging document states.

She is also accused of signing a false formal written statement, knowing that it would be used as evidence in court.

Detective Senior Sergeant Rebecca Cotton spoke to media about the case a week before the arrests were made. Photo / Melissa Nightingale

The man’s charges also include, on March 8, punching a dog on the head on two occasions, “causing it to be seriously injured or impaired”.

The pair appeared separately, with the mother’s case being called first.

Her lawyer said she had been instructed to enter not guilty pleas.

She asked for interim name suppression for her client with an understanding it would be argued “substantively” at the next call of the matter.

She also applied for bail for the woman, which Judge Sainsbury declined.

The man appeared next, with two women in the public gallery shedding tears as he appeared in the courtroom.

His lawyer, Steve Gill, also asked for interim name suppression, noting his client had already been threatened on social media.

Judge Sainsbury granted suppression for both defendants to avoid identifying the children, who have automatic name suppression.

Police continue to be interested in any information relating to this matter and encourage anyone to contact them on 105 or via 105.police.govt.nz and reference file number: 240308/4647

Alternatively, information can be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.