A Wanganui woman has received a sentence of community detention after pleading guilty to hitting a child, once kicking her so hard she was unable to walk properly.
Moana Kathleen Tehuna, 27, was convicted of ill-treating a child, assault on a child and dishonestly using a document and sentenced to four months' community detention, six months' supervision and ordered to pay $2800 reparation by Judge David Cameron.
Between July 1 2010 and January 24, 2011, Tehuna hit her victim, aged between four and five, on the head and hand with a spatula and kicked her in the leg with such force that she was unable to walk properly.
She also pushed her into a wall in the kitchen and a bedroom, and threw her to the ground after she did not hang some clothing up properly.
The ill-treatment charge relates to incidents in the same date range in which she hit the same victim with a hairbrush.
After a relative noticed some unusual bruises on the child, she was subsequently examined at Wanganui Hospital on January 31, 2011.
She was found to have a 2cm scar to the right of her forehead and bruising to her arm and thigh.
Tehuna told police she smacked the victim on the bottom and hand once or twice a week and she sometimes noticed a bruise on the victim's bottom the next day, but denied the other allegations.
In relation to the theft charge, Tehuna was associated with a 60-year-old man who she took with her on shopping errands, and he in turn assisted her by providing transport.
Between March 15 and 19 last year, Tehuna took the man's ATM card and withdrew a total of $2800 in three separate withdrawals.
She told police she did withdraw the money, but had permission to do so.
While these charges were pending, Tehuna was convicted of drink driving and was sentenced to four months' community detention and six months' supervision in August last year.
Following that charge, Tehuna's lawyer, Peter Brosnahan, said she referred herself to alcohol and drug counselling and undertook and completed a residential alcohol program.
She successfully completed her community detention and continued to engage with those support networks, had not offended since and was clear of alcohol and drugs.
Tehuna had made huge progress in addressing her significant alcohol issues which underpinned her offending.
She had taken hold of her life and turned it around, he said.
Judge Cameron said Tehuna's pre-sentence report and two letters, one from a person identifying themselves as a social worker, had been handed to the court, describing how her relationship with the child in question was continuing to improve and they showed an excellent rapport.