Cushla Thompson whose face was permanently disfigured by her ex-partner. Photo / Mead Norton
Warning: Graphic description of domestic violence
A woman whose face was permanently disfigured by her ex-partner is livid he was able to release music two days after he finished home detention.
Cushla Thomson believes her abuser’s career was able to flourish during a “slap on the hand” sentence and wants those streaming his music - one song has had more than 500,000 streams on Spotify - to know what he did to her.
“It’s like he has gotten away with what he’s done to me,” she told the Herald on Sunday.
“When I was told about his sentence I was really disappointed, like, was my face only worth 10 months’ home detention? He changed my face for my whole life, and for it, he only got a slap on the hand.”
Thomson had been in a relationship with Michael Bishop Tai-Terekia, who goes by his artist name Royal Flush NZ, for nine months when the assault happened, spanning the whole night.
A Gisborne Herald report from the sentencing said, according to an agreed summary of facts, Tai-Terekia pummeled Thomson’s head with his fist, dragged her along a hallway by her hair, and pushed her down a 5m staircase.
She suffered a wound that exposed her skull. Blood splattered on the stairwell wall as her head banged against it and she was rendered momentarily unconscious. The judge called the attack “appalling and barbaric”.
Tai-Terekia was also charged with attacking his 62-year-old aunt, who had tried to intervene early in the incident. He had verbally abused her and punched her in the back of the head.
Tai-Terekia had a past conviction for a domestic assault but it was from 2013 so would not be taken into account, the judge said at the time.
He was convicted of a three-strikes offence of injuring with reckless disregard, assault with intent to injure, and assault on a person in a family relationship.
He was sentenced in Gisborne District Court in September last year to 10 months of home detention.
It was reported during Tai-Terekia’s bail hearing that he continued to pursue his interests on TikTok, with more than 76,000 followers.
He was considered a “social influencer” but it was wrong for a violent offender to be idolised and put on a pedestal like that, Thomson told the court at the time.
It also upset a former partner of five years, who spoke about it in a victim impact statement read to the court on her behalf.
Thomson, 26, now lives in Tauranga with her two children.
Despite his convictions, the Gisborne-based man continued to own a clothing label and is now internet famous on many platforms, including Spotify and YouTube, for his music.
The Herald on Sunday asked Spotify if they ran background checks on artists and whether they had done so in the case of Tai-Terekia, but a spokesman said they were unable to comment.
In a general statement, the audio streaming service said artists uploaded their music via Spotify 4 Artists.
“In order for an artist to get music onto Spotify they need a distributor to allow for licensing and royalty payments.”
Tai-Terekia/Royal Flush NZ’s distributor, Ditto Music, was contacted for comment but did not respond.
Ditto Music describes itself as one of the world’s leading music distribution, record label services and artist management companies, supporting more than 200,000 independent artists and labels across the globe.
Tai-Terekia did not respond to requests for comment. Counsel Alistair Clarke, who represented him in court said: “I have no instructions to make comment on this matter”.
Thomson said the flashbacks still haunted her, and the thought of bumping into the man who took so much from her was devastating.
“I am terrified of seeing him, bumping into him, at big events, in public, just the thought of seeing him makes me sick in the stomach.
“It’s my worst fear . . . I don’t know how I’ll react.”
Despite being granted a lifelong protection order against Tai-Terekia for her and her children, escaping her abuser in the digital world was tough, she said.
“Whenever I see anything that reminds me of him or anything related to him on my news feed, it’s like a slap on my face.”
The man who destroyed her face had gained popularity on social media, she said.
”I don’t want any other woman to suffer, I was afraid of him, but since speaking out and finding many more women have suffered from his rage, I have gained some strength.
“I will never go to Gisborne ever again, I have a genuine fear of him and his family.”
After the assault, it was a month before she could walk without crutches. Her face is permanently disfigured.
Thomson said she still remembered being dragged as her head was smashed into cabinets.
“I remember waking up outside the carport, he was standing over me, as if just waiting to finish me.
“I just got up, leapt up the big fence and ran for my life.
“A girl across the road opened her doors, held me and shut the door. She rang the police.
“Briefly, as he was banging on the door, yelling, ‘come on baby, come out’, I was able to catch a glimpse of the reflection of my face.
“I could see my exposed skull. But all this while I was thinking of my kids, I just wanted them by my side.
“I could’ve died. My daughter, who was 5 at the time, saw everything. She was traumatised.”
Thomson was hospitalised after the incident and underwent surgery. She required numerous stitches for a large wound to her face.
She told the court it was a couple of days before she could open one of her eyes, which was so badly swollen it was almost sealed shut.
Thomson said the time of the attack was by far “the worst night of my life”.
“It left a lifelong impact on my life. I still look in the mirror and cry. I still suffer from headaches and nightmares. I have low confidence and self-esteem.
“I still get strange looks in public and my daughter gets embarrassed and angry when other kids ask her what happened to her mummy’s face.
“It’s going to take me a long time before I’m able to trust another man again.
“My daughter has said I’m never ever allowed another boyfriend ever again.”
The summary of facts recorded five previously-reported family harm incidents between the couple.
When police found Tai-Terekia asleep in his bed, he had told them his partner might have harmed herself using a butcher’s knife.
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