Turangi Campsite Attack – Sixteen Year Old Male Charged

 

A sixteen year old youth from Turangi has been charged in relation to the violent attack on a five year old Belgian girl as she lay sleeping at a Turangi camping ground.

In  a report the Dom Post said

Police tonight announced they had arrested a 16-year-old, who would appear in Taupo Youth Court tomorrow afternoon charged with sexual violation, aggravated wounding and burglary.

Given the degree of Mongrel Mob activity on the night of the crime, and the youth’s age, there is bound to be speculation that the crime was motivated by a desire to be part of a gang – some of the most horrendous crimes in New Zealand are committed by gang prospects.

The police investigation was said to have stretched as far as Wellington, where a matter of weeks ago two youths aged 17 and 19 were arrested for the beating death of Scottish journalist Phillip Cottrell as he walked home from work one morning.

Some other high profile cases in New Zealand where youths have been responsible for serious crimes against females include the killer of Scottish tourist Karen Aim in Taupo and of British immigrant Libby Templeman in Kerikeri. Both youths were aged only 14 when they perpetrated their terrible acts of violence and sexual degradation.

New Zealand’s youngest killer is Bailey Kurariki who was sentenced to 7 years in 2002 for the killing of a pizza delivery worker Michael Choy. He was 12 years old at the time of Mr Choy’s death and is now back behind bars for more recent offending.

Kiwis react to the arrest

New Zealanders quickly made their feelings know on the TradeMe forum, this is a sample of their more printable comments. One makes reference to the as yet unsolved killing of Charanpreet Singh Dhaliwal a security guard who died from head injuries on his first night at work in Auckland.

The camp ground is opposite the local police station, approx 6 kms from the local prison and there are six churches within walking distance of the site.

“I got a chill down my body when I just heard this on the six o’clock news…16…geesus… what is this country coming to…..almost guarantee that this excuse for a human being will get name suppression then a gentle ride through the Youth Courts, as has been said above. I don’t want to hear that he was abused/from a dysfunctional feral family etc, etc, SO fed up with this pc bullshit legal system we have here that makes namby pamby excuses for these ferals..If he is not dealt with really harshly, you can almost guarantee that he will be out to commit far, far worse crimes as he gets older…just so shocking…But well done to the Police for making a speedy arrest, bet he has previous history to.”

“thanks nz police ! many thanks. will you please now get the scum that killed that young indian security boy, on his first night on the job. thanks again.”

“So all those that got on here and accused the father can go eat there words and apoligise too.”

“Quite right. As far as I know Belgium doesn’t have a feral underclass, especially not one who takes their family on international camping holidays “of a lifetime”. This pondscum is just the tip of the iceberg in this “fair” land. He should do 10 years hard labour. That might even make a man of him?”

“A well known church member’s son?
Care to share which church?”

And there were the inevitable references to the attack being gang motivated and comments about personal security in the little town

“it wouldnt be an initiation..it would be a case of being the most violent outrageous etc so you are more prominent and have a higher chance of being ‘approved”

“Probably more one of these boy gangs they have these days i would say and from when i went to Turangi a few months back looking for a lost pup i bred i found the youth there very unapproachable as well as a lot of other residents i actually said to hubby at the time don’t think i would want to walk through here at night and i used to stay at the same camp ground as a kid and my memorys were not what they are now about the place.”

“most if not all of those boys gangs, tend to be prospects and aspire to “greater things”. for want of a better turn of phrase”

Broken New Zealand

You may also be interested in an older blog of ours How New Zealanders Would Fix “Broken New Zealand” from August 2011. We wrote about how Kiwis proposed that their country should be fixed, it makes interesting reading.

Vicious Sex Attack on 5 Year Old Belgian Tourist – Update

Turangi to Lake Taupo from Wikipedia

Update 28 Dec 2011 – A 16 year old Turangi youth has been charged in relation to this matter, more here

We’re shocked to hear that yet another tourist has been seriously assaulted in a campervan in New Zealand. What makes this particular crime all the more disgusting is that this time it was a five year old child that was severely beaten and subjected to a vicious sexual attack after being struck unconscious. A heinous and contemptible crime perpetrated against a defenseless child.

One of the police officers working on the case said it was the worst he’d seen

“It is the worst attack I have seen in my 28 years of police service.

“It was a vicious attack on a defenceless five-year-old girl. You don’t get too many offences which are too much worse than this.”

Our thoughts are with the girl’s family, who are said to be on dream holiday of a lifetime from Belgium, and we wish her a full and speedy recovery from her ordeal.

The British press is bound to draw comparisons to the abduction of 3 year old Madeleine McCann, whose parents left her sleeping in a holiday resort in Portugal.

The family arrived at Club Habitat on Ohuanga Road, Turangi yesterday (street view below) and the assault took place last night between 10.10 and 10.40 whilst the child’s parents were just metres away an amenity block. The girl and her three year old brother were sleeping in the van at the time.

Police are not releasing details of the family or their country of origin but they did tell reporters that there had been a burglary at the camp the previous night.

The attack took place just yards opposite the local police station and less than 6 kilometres from the low security Tongariro-Rangipo Prison, one of three correctional facilities in the Waikato.

Posters on the  Trade Me forum say that law and order in the township suffers because of a level of criminality among supporters who move there to be close to prisoners. They also say that ‘undesirables’ lodge in low cost accommodation and campsites in the area after their release, making the area unsuitable for tourists.

As of September 2011 26 offenders have escaped from the Tongariro Rangipo Prison in the last 10 years.

Among them was Lex Miller, 48, an inmate with a history of serious violence escaped from the prison in , in August 2011. An off -duty police officer eventually spotted him at a camp ground in Gisborne and he was taken back in to custody.

In 2008 there were other escapes - Murderer Stuart Harrison and robber and sex offender Sumit Narayan and in 2009 Christopher Thomas Watkins walked out of the prison whilst serving a life sentence for murder.

Update

Belgian Travel Advice:
The Kingdom of Belgium Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation presently gives the following general advice to citizens travelling to New Zealand. It will be interesting to see if this is revised following the child’s attack:

“In general, New Zealand is a safe country without crime or flagrant threat of terrorism. Only the future will tell how long the location of New Zealand will offer some safety guarantee.

It is advisable for visitors who travel to New Zealand to use their common sense to be cautious and vigilant, and to follow the advice and instructions of the New Zealand authorities.”

There is no reciprocal healthcare agreement between New Zealand and Belgium, therefore we hope that the child’s family has adequate travel insurance or that ACC will cover her medical bills in full, it would be a shame if the NZ public’s generous donations to the family were eaten up by expenses.

Street view of Club Habitat

View Larger Map

Unfortunately, even though New Zealand has a safe image abroad there have been a significant number of assaults, rapes  and robberies of campervan tourists in the last few years. Sadly it was just a matter of time until a child was attacked.

Crime against foreign nationals in New Zealand is something that we write about regularly, take a look at our blogs tagged campervan to see numerous other incidents. Sadly it seems that the message still isn’t getting out about New Zealand and its high crime rates and violence against tourists.

High Rates of Child Maltreatment Deaths

Many tourists fail to realise that far from being safe for children, New Zealand is ranked joint third in the world by UNICEF for the highest number of  child maltreatment deaths (1.2 per 100,000 children) only the US and Mexico have more  See our Facts and stats pages (above) for more information.

The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office has issued the following advice for travellers to New Zealand. Perhaps it is time for them to be more specific about the types of violent crime and follow the lead of the Dutch government after a honeymooning couples were raped at a campsites in Tuatapere and Haruru Falls, so that people may be better informed.

Safety and Security – Crime

Street crimes occur in major urban areas. Reports of thefts from unattended vehicles, especially hire cars/camper vans in major tourist areas (e.g. the Coromandel Peninsula, Rotorua and Queenstown) have increased. There has also been an increase in the number of thefts from hotel rooms in some tourist areas. Do not leave possessions in unattended vehicles even if out of sight in a locked boot. Do not leave valuables in hotel rooms, but use safe boxes when available. Keep passports, travellers’ cheques, credit cards, etc separate. See our Victims of Crime Abroad page.

A NZ police media statement gave the following information about the Club Habitat assault

Child seriously assaulted at holiday park
Thursday, 22 December 2011, 1:19 pm
Press Release: New Zealand Police

Child seriously assaulted at holiday park

A five-year-old girl is in a serious but stable condition in hospital after being attacked last night at a holiday park in Turangi.

The girl is currently touring New Zealand with her parents and brother in a hired ute and caravan. Yesterday afternoon they arrived in Turangi and booked into Club Habitat on Ohuanga Road, Turangi.

Last night the girl’s father was in the amenity block just metres away from the caravan. At approximately 10.10pm the mother also walked across to the amenity block leaving the two children asleep inside the caravan.

When she returned at approximately 10.40pm she found the caravan door locked and through the window saw a man inside.

She ran to get her husband and when they returned the caravan door was open, the man was gone and their daughter was lying seriously injured in her bed.

She has serious injuries mainly to her head and face and has undergone surgery at Waikato Hospital.

An investigation is underway, headed by Detective Inspector Mark Loper. ESR are in Turangi carrying out a full scene examination. Officers from Waikato are currently assisting with interviews with the parents.

Detective Inspector Mark Loper said: “This is a vicious attack, and the fact that it is on a five-year-old tourist just days before Christmas makes it all the more appalling. It is vital that anyone who has the smallest piece of information that might help this investigation comes forward as soon as possible.”

The family are visiting from Europe. Police will not be more specific at this stage as the family need some time to notify relatives back home before any further detail is released.

Some other Turangi Crime Stories

Dairy owners taking up arms – Sanjay and Monika Malaviya arm themselves after 2 armed hold ups and five burglaries

June Sowerby disappeared walking home Christmas Eve 2003 – presumed murdered, body never found. Staying at Turangi Lodge

Hunter who killed camping teacher to get early release – man hunting illegally at night, shot schoolteacher in head at campsite. He is released after serving just 11 months in prison.

Police seek thugs – elderly man beaten by burglars a few weeks ago

Man accused of attacking Turangi policeman in court -Motorist punched police officer unconscious in an assault on SH 1

Smuggler jail guard ‘felt sorry’ for inmate – prison warder smuggled drugs in to Tongariro-Rangipo Prison

Other Tourist Attacks in New Zealand

You may also be interested in

Chilean Tourist Robbed, Loses Life’s Work

Te Anau Troubled By Tourist Attacks

Honeymoon Couple Lose Precious Photos, No ‘Gold Medal’

Czech Tourist, Jan Fakotor, Stabbed In Motueka

English tourist mugged in Gisborne

Chilean tourist punched, robbed in Nelson

A group of students that were beaten and robbed whilst on a treasure hunt at the Hundertwasser toilets in Kawakawa, Northland

A series of random, unprovoked attacks in Queenstown

Previous robbery of British tourists at Kerosene Creek

Tourists robbed at Kerosene Creek

Three French tourists beaten and robbed in their campervan in Mangamuka, Northland - police have yet to resolve this crime

A family of Swiss tourists that were assaulted and racially abused in Kaitaia, Northland

Anke Kuballa and Marc Busch from Germany who were robbed in Whangarei, Northland

A family of five robbed at the roadside whilst camping in their van at Oturere Stream, 25km south of Turangi

Two German tourists attacked in Paihia, Northland

Two American tourists were robbed at Shipwreck Bay in Northland whilst sandboarding

Asian woman, (probably Japanese) age 22, raped in her room by 2 teenagers in a home invasion in Opotiki, Northland

Three Chinese tourists attacked and robbed at Te paki, 90 Mile Beach, Northland, by two men they’d stopped to help

French tourist Anthony Cressend, beaten and robbed at campsite in Ahipara, Northland

Two Australian tourists robbed at knifepoint for their holiday money in Te Puke, SE of Tauranga.

Japanese tourist age 23 (female) kidnapped, robbed and assaulted in Rotorua by four men

French tourist (male) raped at gunpoint near Opotiki,

American peace corp twins Adam and Alex Rahmlow, 21 were robbed of all their possessions by a man they tried to help in Amberley, Christchurch.

Dutch couple raped and robbed on a campsite in Tuatapere, NW of Invercargill, whilst on their honeymoon. (Dutch govt. issued a travel warning about NZ)

Two Koreans were attacked and robbed of their possession which included a laptop computer by a man claiming to be a gang member in Blenheim.

British tourist worker sexually assaulted near Hururu Falls, Northland when she was dragged off a walking track.

Canadian tourist Jeremie Kawerninski, kidnapped, assaulted and robbed in Lower Hutt, Wellington

Dutch couple robbed and sexually attacked Haruru Falls, Northland whilst on honeymoon.

Two British women robbed and raped in their campervan at Tokomaru Bay, north of Gisborne.

Japanese tourist subjected to a prolonged and brutal sex attack in a communal area of a backpacker’s hostel in Turangi, Taupo.

Scottish woman Karen Aim brutally murdered by a youth in Taupo.

German woman Birgit Brauer murdered near New Plymouth.

Korean man Jae Hyeon Kim decapitated with a spade by white supremacist.

Japanese tourist robbed at gunpoint in Oamaru.

Irish cycle tourist Paul Mack bashed, robbed and urinated on throughout his NZ tour.

6 English and Danish tourists attacked and stabbed in Cashel Mall, Christchurch for having “foreign accents.”

Irish man Robby O’Brien beaten up in Westport.

Russian couple Denis Khotchenko and Lera Nesterova beaten and robbed in Milford, Auckland

English woman knifed and sexually assaulted in a toilet block at an A1 motor camp in Kaikoura

American campers Patrick Dykstra and Kelsey McGinley beaten and robbed at Whangarei Falls, Northland.

Australian tourist sexually assaulted on a street in broad daylight in Nelson.

Australian tourist subjected to a sex attack by Maia Crawford Rongonui whilst walking home to a backpackers in Christchurch.

Canadian tourist left with a fractured skull outside Silver Fern backpackers in Taupo.

Dutch tourist beaten and robbed at Lake Rotorua.

British man Paul Speakman and his young son beaten and robbed in a campervan at Athenree Gorge, Katikati.

Chinese woman attacked for speaking Chinese on a train approaching Petone.

Scottish visitor Stuart Martin who was left in a coma and with a boot print on his face after a street bashing in Taradale, Christchurch.

HVHS Report. Ombudsmen Want Compulsory Anti-Bullying Programmes In NZ Schools

February 2009 we wrote about a large scale brawl at Hutt Valley High School and a series of disturbing serious assaults at the school which resulted in parents calling for an investigation by the Human Rights Commissioner  into human rights abuses at the Wellington school.

We wrote in Gang fight at Hutt Valley High School

“…An article on the Asia Pacific Forum.net website recently highlighted human rights abuses and bullying at the school, whereby in 2007 boys were dragged onto the school field and violated by their classmates.

Concerned parents reported the incident to the Human Rights Commissioner and calls were made for a national inquiry into pupil safety and school violence:

“The Human Rights Commission is to investigate schools’ anti-bullying policies to see whether children’s rights to safety are being protected. The move follows calls for a national inquiry by parents of bullying victims at Hutt Valley High School. The investigation is linked to a study by the children’s commissioner into pupil safety and school violence.

Chief Human Rights Commissioner Rosslyn Noonan agreed to analyse children’s human rights concerns after meeting Hutt Valley parents. Her report will focus on the right to safety and security of the person, the right to education and the rights of victims”.

It will consider how human rights are addressed by schools’ anti-bullying policies and make recommendations in situations in which policies are not protecting children.

The Government unveiled anti-bullying initiatives this year after a spate of school violence. Documents issued under the Official Information Act show Education Minister Chris Carter called for urgent action amid fears that schools were not treating bullying as a priority.

Last December nine Hutt Valley High School boys were dragged to the ground and violated by a pack of six classmates.
The victims’ parents wrote to the Human Rights Commission alleging a “systematic failure” by state agencies responsible for protecting children. They asked for a national inquiry into violence and human rights abuses in schools.

The commission has agreed to assist Children’s Commissioner Cindy Kiro’s school safety investigation, which is due to be issued in February.

The Hutt Valley parents’ spokesman welcomed the investigations, saying playground violence was “a much broader issue than one school … We’re talking about child abuse”.

Now, over four years later, the Ombudsmen’s office finally released their report into the human rights abuses at Hutt Valley High School.

It identified fear among teachers and lack of supervision, the school trying to minimise the seriousness of the assaults, the normalisation of a culture of violence, highlighted failings by a number of external organisations and called for anti-bullying programmes to be made mandatory in all New Zealand schools:

Ombudsmen want compulsory anti-bullying programmes in school Tuesday, 6 September 2011, 2:45 pm Press Release: Office of the Ombudsmen

Office of the Ombudsmen
Te Tari-o-NgāKaitiaki Mana Tangata

Media release

Ombudsmen want compulsory anti-bullying programmes in schools

The Ombudsmen’s Office is calling for anti-bullying programmes to be mandatory in all schools in the wake of its investigation into serious assaults at Hutt Valley High School.

And the Office also wants to see victims gaining a voice in school disciplinary processes and greater guidance for school discipline.

The report by Ombudsman David McGee was today tabled in Parliament following his investigation into complaints arising from a series of violent incidents that occurred at Hutt Valley High School in December 2007. The complaints were made by a group of parents against the school, Child Youth and Family and the Education Review Office.

In the report, David McGee says the serious assaults that occurred at the school in late 2007 were part of a “systemic problem of violence”, which the school had recognised but had not addressed satisfactorily.

“They were not referred to the Police or CYF for investigation, they were not adequately punished, and the school took it upon itself to interpret medical information in favour of the perpetrators. Victims’ parents were not told by the school that their children had been assaulted.”

There was a lack of student supervision outside of class time, with teachers not performing scheduled duty, some for fear of their own safety, he says.

A complaint against the Education Review Office that it had failed to properly assess the safety of the school was upheld. A complaint against Child Youth and Family was also upheld for its failure to manage a conflict of interest held by one of its staff who was also chair of the school’s board of trustees.

David McGee says that while the school understated the seriousness of the 2007 assaults, it had since been very proactive in addressing bullying and violence at the school. These steps had included introducing anti-bullying programmes and setting up a safety advisory group which included student representatives.

In his report, David McGee recommended school national administration guidelines be amended to make anti-bullying programmes compulsory in all schools, rather than it being simply a recommendation from ERO.

“I also consider the present disciplinary procedures could be improved by requiring principals and Boards of Trustees to consider the views of victims when making decisions on discipline, when the infringement at issue is bullying or violence.”

Victims could be given the opportunity to either provide a written victim impact statement or to attend board suspension hearings, he said.

David McGee also recommended the Ministry of Education provide schools with more specific guidance on the levels of punishment appropriate for various actions.

“This is because the situation at Hutt Valley High School demonstrates that the lack of appropriate sanctions can contribute to, and risk normalisation of, a culture of violence.”

While a rigid national template for school discipline would have little merit, the current “entirely discretionary” system risked producing arbitrary disciplinary decisions both within and between schools, he said.

The Ombudsman’s full report is available online at www.ombudsmen.parliament.nz

ENDS (source)

Among the complaints laid before the ombudsman was the following, 11th on the list:

“The BOT’s decisions on communications to parents put concerns about the financial implications of bad publicity on international student enrolments and other less important matters ahead of the harm done to victims. The Board did so by making statements that minimised the seriousness of what happened and saying the School had acted reasonably and responsibly in the handling of the incidents.”

The ombudsman upheld the complaint, saying in his report:

Having studied all the materials and talked to the School I am of the view that the School did minimise the seriousness of the incidents, and that that was symptomatic of a culture that had developed whereby incidents of violence were understated. Whether the financial implications of bad publicity factored into the BOT’s decision making about this as suggested by the complainants it is impossible to say.

Examples of School minimising incidents

As discussed above, the School minimised the seriousness of the assaults from the outset by imposing inappropriately lenient punishments on the perpetrators, as well as failing to notify the parents of the victims.

Additionally, the incidents appeared to be underplayed in subsequent comments made by the then Acting Principal and then BOT Chair to the media. Specifically, in a 16 January 2008 media report the then Acting Principal is quoted as having stated that “it wasn’t an assault where somebody had blood spilt” and the then BOT Chair is quoted as stating she had “understood the assaults were minor, so they were not referred to the Board for disciplinary action”.

The School also minimised the seriousness of the incidents in its initial attitude to external agency involvement. The MOE records surrounding the incident suggest that the then Acting Principal initially queried the need for the MOE to become involved in the matter. The papers also suggest that the School was reluctant to cooperate with the Police in the initial stages of the Police investigation.

Although the School subsequently cooperated with both the Police and the MOE, its refusal in the new year to accept a Police offer to provide a Police presence on the school grounds again suggests that the seriousness of the incidents was not acknowledged by the School.

School’s attitude to incidents

In my first meeting with the School management it was suggested that the assaults were not particularly serious given that a decision was made to deal with the perpetrators by means of a Police Alternate Family Group Conference rather than prosecutions. However the Alternate Family Group Conference was undertaken on the basis that serious crimes had been committed, including multiple counts of assault with a weapon, as well as threatening behaviour, common assault and sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection, and that the failure of the perpetrators to meet various conditions would result in the matters being brought before the courts. I do not consider that this means of dealing with the perpetrators indicates that their actions were not viewed as being serious.

A further example of the School seeming to underplay the events was the suggestion it made to me in our first meeting that the Police officer who investigated the offences was on a “crusade”, and out to “make a name for himself”, when in fact his investigations confirmed the information that the School already had before it, that is, that there had been numerous incidents of serious pack assault committed by pupils on pupils on the school grounds. In this regard I note that the Police confirmed to me that the officer who obtained the witness statements was highly regarded for his investigative skills.

Conclusion on Complaint 11

This complaint is sustained.”

Juror “Embarassed” To Be A New Zealander, Sue Bradford “Ashamed To Be A Kiwi”

Thinking of emigrating to New Zealand because its such a great place to raise kids, would you want to raise your kids in a society that does this to its children?

A New Zealand jury has just acquitted a man charged under their country’s controversial anti-smacking legislation, even though the accused admitted to tying his son (by a previous marriage) by his wrist and then by his neck, shaving off his hair, and washing his mouth out with soap

The Sunday Star Times covered the story of the the jury empathising with the parents having to go through the ‘ordeal’ of being prosecuted for their actions. The man’s wife was heavily pregnant and had to climb stairs at the courthouse every day.

The lead juror in the child cruelty case said she was “embarrassed to be a New Zealander” because the couple on trial were “good decent parents trying to instil a sense of responsibility“.

But former Green MP Sue Bradford, the law’s architect, said she was ashamed people thought such actions were acceptable. To her they amounted to assault.

The father and his new wife were found not guilty after a trial on 15 charges alleging cruelty against two children from his previous marriage. The children were aged 10 and under at the time.

The couple’s lawyer used Section 59 of the Crimes Act, the amendment championed by Bradford, as a defence.

The case tested the amendment and showed what a jury would allow in terms of “justified force” to prevent or minimise harm, or to stop the child engaging in “offensive or disruptive behaviour”.

We’re not going to re-publish the shocking list of abuse perpetrated on this Christian, church attending  man’s children here on this blog, you’ll have to read the SST’s report.

Suffice to say that in most developed countries these children may well have been taken from an abusive parent and placed in foster homes. Somehow, though some cruel twist in logic, this sort of treatment of children is now seen as reasonable force under the circumstances at the time of the incidents.

Sue Bradford told the paper

“It does make me ashamed to be a Kiwi to think there are so many people out there who still accept all of this.”

But It would seem that these sort of actions are accepted as typical

Family First director Bob McCoskrie said: “This family has been put through hell for almost two years, after being charged for typical parenting practices on unsubstantiated claims made by unreliable sources. And they have been completely and utterly acquitted by their peers in a prolonged court case.”

Typical? Typcial for where?

It’s just as well that adults aren’t treated like this isn’t it. Can you imagine having your boss wash your mouth out with soap because you swore when your PC crashed, or being tied to the desk to prevent you from taking a smoko, or worse still your grandmother being tied to her bed to stop her wandering the care home at night ? Yet somehow its ok to do it to children and expect them to grow up to be normal, well adjusted adults.

Is it any wonder that New Zealand is ranked joint third in the world by UNICEF for the highest number of  child maltreatment deaths (1.2 per 100,000 children) only the US and Mexico have more.

This is a quote taken from a Save the Children, NZ document called “HEAR OUR VOICES“

“Aotearoa/ New Zealand has;

• A problem with gangs that are contributing to crime and abuse in the home. Young people are joining gangs for safety and are becoming victims of gang life.
• A problem with bullying – particularly of specific groups like refugee and migrant young people.
• A problem with child abuse which is not just statistics or features in death notices in newspapers but a reality that many of the young story tellers knew and experienced.
• An issue with domestic violence affecting the lives of many children and young people.“

Young child deaths in NZ since the ‘Anti-smacking’ law was passed

1. 16 month old Sachin Dhani June 2007
2. Newborn baby June 2007
3. 22-month-old Tyla-Maree Darryl Flynn June 2007
4. 3 year old Nia Glassie July 2007
5. 10-month-old Jyniah Mary Te Awa September 2007 Manurewa
6. 2-month-old Tahani Mahomed December 2007 Otahuhu
7. 3 year old Dylan Hohepa Tonga Rimoni April 2008 Drury
8. 22-month old girl May 2008, Dunedin
9. 7-year-old Duwayne Toetu Taote Pailegutu. July 2008
10. 16-month-old Riley Justin Osborne Dec 2008 Kerikeri
11. 3-year-old Cherish Tahuri-Wright Feb 2009 Marton
12. 5-week-old Jayrhis Ian Te Koha Lock-Tata Mar 2009 Taupo
13. 1-year-old Trent James Matthews Jun 2009
14. 2-year-old Jacqui Peterson-Davis Aug 2009 Kaitaia
15. 3-year-old Kash McKinnon Aug 2009 Palmerston North
16. 22-month-old Hail-Sage McClutchie, Sept 2009 Morrinsville
16. 2-year-old Karl Richard Arc Perigo-Check October 2009 Wanganui. At the same time businessman Colin Craig launches an appeal to protest march for ‘democracy’ – parental rights to hit their children (the “anti-smacking law”)
17. 18-month-old Ann Sangh June 2010 Tauranga
18. 6-month-old Cezar Taylor July 2010 South Auckland
19. 5-year-old Sahara Baker-Koro December 2010 Napier
20. 5-month-old Mikara Ranui Jarius Reti January 2011 Flaxmere

Other news stories you may find interesting

Teacher pulled ears ‘heaps’, boy tells court -22 March 2011

School children have told a court their teacher pulled their ears, kicked them and threw a chair at one of them when he got angry.

Wi Derek Huata, 53, a teacher at Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Ngati Kahungunu Ki Heretaunga in Hastings, is on trial in Napier District Court, facing 10 charges of assaulting a child and two of assault with a weapon…

Other blogs you may find interesting:

Chose from any tagged bullying

Rotorua Stabbing “Indicative” Of Youth Issues In City

Rotorua needs to face up to its problems

On Friday night a 16 year old youth died on the driveway of a property on Clinkard Avenue Rotorua, he’d been stabbed to death and a 15 year old has been arrested in connection with his death.

A passerby stopped to give assistance to the injured boy as he lay dying, he gave a traumatic account of the events of that night to the NZ Herald, saying that a group of teenagers had been drinking on the property were he found the youth.

A report of the killing was written up by the Herald,  that included the statement

“community leaders called for the Government to tackle youth and alcohol problems in the city.” Read the full article HERE

If the community of Rotorua can’t manage youth and alcohol problems in its own city what chance does the government stand, is this just case of buck passing? How is the government going to prevent teen parties or youth binge drinking anyway?

The Herald tells its readers

“Last month 11 teens were lucky to survive a van smash. In March, police intercepted a group of youths armed with a knife, wheelbrace and an iron bar on their way to attack students from another school.”

School invasions aren’t unique to Rotorua, that happens all over the country.

District councillor Charles Sturt opined that the killing was “indicative” of youth issues in the city and that people needed to face up to that:

“We’ve got people that talk up that we haven’t got any issues in Rotorua. But there are specific issues that need addressing and we need some strategies in place to fix those problems,”

Again, that strange disconnect between facts and reality – don’t talk about, or acknowledge there’s a problem, and it doesn’t exist. Rather like the good people of Gisborne that have been spared the pain of knowing about crime in their community because police decided to be selective with what they released to the press? See No Crime in Gisborne, It’s Official

Our regular readers may remember that Rotorua may also have the same issues as Gisborne does with the selective release of crime information to the media. Read Crime? What Crime? in the Gisborne Herald. Gisborne’s new station supervisor Detective Sergeant Mick Lander, introduced a similar policy in Rotorua where he had moved from.

The NZ Herald adds

Deputy Mayor Trevor Maxwell was shocked when told about the death.

“I’m horrified. It’s awful. We’re still trying to work through all the issues from things like Nia Glassie.”

And councillor Geoff Kenny said it was a “terrible tragedy. It’s another example of young people not knowing the consequences of their actions.”

Nia Glassie wasn’t a “thing” she was a three year old Maori girl that was tortured and abused to death by her family in Rotorua, she eventually died from brain injuries. She’d

“been kicked, beaten, slapped, jumped on, held over a burning fire, had wrestling moves copied from a computer game practised on her, placed into a clothes dryer spinning at top heat for up to 30 minutes, folded into a sofa and sat on, shoved into piles of rubbish, dragged through a sandpit half-naked, flung against a wall, dropped from a height onto the floor, and whirled rapidly on an outdoor rotary clothes line until thrown off.”

…Nia’s abuse became the subject of various campaigns against violence and cruelty to children in New Zealand. Prime Minister Helen Clark said she could not believe that a child could suffer like that without anybody knowing about it and encouraged New Zealanders to report child abuse.

In fact many in the community blame the culture of “not wanting to nark” or inform the police of domestic violence matters as one of the prime contributors to Nia’s death. For example, one of the prosecution witnesses Rawhiti Simiona, a neighbour to the house where Nia suffered, told New Zealand television he regretted not calling the police when he saw the toddler being swung on the clothes line. Source

Well there’s no way any government can legislate against callous disregard, or pig headed stupidity.

It takes the village to raise the child and the New Zealand village failed little Nia, the child who died on Friday night and the child who stabbed him, just like it’s failing countless others like them every day, no amount of avoiding the issues behind that is going to change it.

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