Thread: Maori child rights activist, Anton Blank, is devastated

"The man accused of killing a five-month-old boy was found trying to play a PlayStation game as the baby was dying on his shoulder....

...Police allege...Hapuku somehow caused critical blunt-force injury to the baby's liver, severing it, and fracturing four of his ribs...

...He [Hapuku] said he did not know how the injuries happened."

Man played computer game as he held dying baby | Stuff.co.nz (26 Jan 2011)

Minister orders report into child abuse case (3 News 21^st December 2010)

Quote from article

Maori child advocacy organisation Te Kahui Mana Ririki director Anton Blank she he was devastated by the abuse and that the whanau had been identified as a Maori family

I don’t know why Mr. Blank is devastated that the family in question was identified as Maori. It not like the New Zealand public doesn’t know how violent Maoris are. One only has to look at some of the high profile child abuse cases over recent years. Below are three such examples.

Violent force inflicted on Kahui twins, court hears


Nia Glassies five days of hell


The tragedy of ‘Lillbing’


At least Maori activists like Hone Kaa are calling for Maori to take responsibility for their "horrific" child abuse statistics. According to his comments in the Otago daily times Maori children are four times more likely to be hospitalized as the result of deliberately-inflicted harm than other ethnic groups in New Zealand. Also New Zealand had the third highest rate of infanticide in the OECD, with around a third of these deaths Maori children.


The British were shocked by the violence they witnessed in Maori society when they first settled in New Zealand and this was the view of a people who had the largest empire in the world.

"A Whanganui man [Rikki Ngatai-Check, 23] was today jailed for life with a minimum non-parole period of 17 years for kicking to death his partner's two-year-old son...

...Ngatai-Check was described in court as a cousin of the boy's father Karl Check, who was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 15 years for the 2007 murder of two-year-old Jhia Te Tua."

Man who kicked toddler to death jailed for at least 17 years - National - NZ Herald News (8 March 2011)

Sean James Donnelly, of Palmerston North, is of decidedly non-Irish appearance:


"Three-year-old Cash died on August 19, 2009 while in Donnelly's care.

He admitted causing the toddler's death after he swung her around by the ankles as punishment for putting a toilet roll in the toilet.

He dropped Cash, causing the severe head injuries that eventually killed her...

...Cash's mother Ngamiri McKinnon was at work."

Man jailed over toddler Cash's killing | Stuff.co.nz (25 March 2011)

Biculturalism in practice at the Maori University, Te Wananga o Aotearoa:


Kylie TeKani was taking classes at the Porirua campus towards the first-year certificate in social service (biculturalism in practice) and follow-up bachelor of social work (biculturalism in practice), despite being sentenced to eight months' home detention in 2008 after pleading guilty to three charges of cruelty to a child and assault with a weapon, Kapi-Mana News reported.

Children in her care, aged five, six and eight, were beaten with a broom handle, had to rummage in rubbish bins for food and were often locked outside of their Porirua home until dark.

Ms TeKani's partner, Norman Makai, received five years in prison.

Wananga system fails to vet social work students - Yahoo!Xtra News (22 April 2011)

"Two year-old James Joseph Ruhe Lawrence – known as JJ – of Takitimu Street in Orakei died a violent death on Monday...

...Detective Inspector Scott Beard says several people associated with JJ have been spoken to over the past few days....

...“At the time of the incident in JJ’s home, we understand there were four adults and three children – including JJ – present. We need the adults to tell us all they know about what happened to JJ – for his and his wider family’s sakes.”".

auckland.scoop.co.nz » Orakei murder inquiry: 2-year-old’s death was violent, say police investigators (18 Nov. 2011)

"Hemana is accused of murdering six-month-old Cezar Taylor, who died from severe head injuries in Starship Children's Hospital on July 28 last year. Hemana has pleaded not guilty.

At the time, police said the baby's injuries were consistent with shaking and a blow to the head, and appeared to have happened over a period of time...Hemana's lawyer Steve Bonnar said the accused accepts he is guilty of manslaughter however he argued that his client did not know that shaking Cezar was likely to cause his death and therefore did not consciously make a choice to kill the infant. "

Cezar Taylor | No food, beds where baby lived -... | Stuff.co.nz 23 Nov. 2011

"A woman who broke a little boy's arm continued to protest her innocence from the dock as she was jailed for two years. "I did not assault him [the seven-year-old boy - McM], sir," Bonita Naera, also known as Masters, told Judge Phillip Cooper in the Rotorua District Court on Wednesday....

...Although she had previous convictions for assaults on children these had been 18 years ago and did not impact on her current sentence, Judge Cooper said."

Jailed child beater says she's innocent - Yahoo! New Zealand News 7 December 2011

Earlier this year the same Judge Phillip Cooper sentenced another defendant surnamed Naera:

"A Rotorua teenager led a heavily intoxicated 14-year-old girl away from a party, raped her and...

In the Rotorua District Court, Judge Phillip Cooper sentenced [John-Paul - McM] Naera to 5 years' jail after giving him a discount of 2 years for his young age and "im- maturity" [sic] at the time of the rape...

...As well as the jail term, Judge Cooper ordered Naera be admitted to the Maori Focus Unit in prison and go through a sexual offenders' programme."

Rotorua teen jailed for raping girl, 14 | Rotorua News | Local News in Rotorua 21 June 2011

"The death of a two-month-old triplet has sparked a homicide investigation in Whanganui. Hinekawa Topia's parents drove her to Wanganui Hospital shortly before 1pm on Thursday...
Her triplet sisters remained in hospital as a precaution, police said on Sunday. Child, Youth and Family has interim custody of the girls and a five-year-old boy..."

Homicide investigation into baby's death - Yahoo! New Zealand News 15 January 2012

Whanganui seems not to be a good place to be a Maori baby, see my earlier post in this thread: Kicking cousins

Our other New Zealander moderator, Inviktus, has told me much about the Maoris and I must tell you: please be careful. I'm sure you are, but they seem like a violent and non-caring group of people.

"A Waikato mother has lost custody of her newborn baby, as police continue to investigate the unexplained death of another of the woman's children. Chelsea Scott was the mother of six-month-old Serenity Jay Scott-Dinnington, who died last April from traumatic brain injuries..."

Newborn baby removed from mother's care - Yahoo! New Zealand News January 2012

An earlier report of this case:

"A homicide inquiry has been launched after the death of a six-month-old Ngaruawahia baby in Starship children's hospital. Serenity Jay Scott-Dinnington was admitted to Waikato Hospital this week with injuries that appeared to be non-accidental, and was transferred to Starship on Tuesday night..."

Injured baby dies after life support turned off | Stuff.co.nz 28 April 2011

"...The life of the "happy" Hamilton toddler was abruptly curtailed on September 27, 2009, while she was staying in Morrinsville with her mother Kelly Percy, and Ms Percy's then-partner Adrian Wilson-Minimita.

It was a visit that didn't occur often for Sage.

From birth, she had been brought up by her grandmother in Hamilton, with her older brother Joey, who had also been taken off their mother, because Delia Percy didn't like the environment her daughter lived in.

"There was lots of drugs and alcohol, so I kept her [Sage] here," she said.

Occasionally her daughter - who had a third child to Mr Wilson-Minimita (now in Child, Youth and Family's care) - would take Sage for a weekend. But contact was limited.

On Friday September 18, however, Kelly Percy took Sage to stay with her for the weekend.

Mrs Percy said she didn't want the youngster to go, but her daughter was persistent.

Sage was supposed to return to Hamilton the following Tuesday but never made it."

Another child death goes unpunished - national | Stuff.co.nz 7 April 2011

Today's update:

"Her mother, one of four witnesses to give evidence yesterday, told the inquest how Hail-Sage had had at least four falls during the time she was in her care...

...Hail-Sage began vomiting on the Tuesday and Ms Percy said dried blood was found in her left ear but she didn't take her daughter to a doctor because of an argument she had with Mr Wilson-Minimita, who went off to play the pokies...

...They then went to a Morrinsville medical centre where they made an appointment.

But after lunch, which Hail-Sage ate, they decided against taking her to a doctor, thinking she "was better" and it was the flu or a stomach bug.

Ms Percy "got on the piss" at a friend's house that night. The following day the vomiting continued and her daughter began saying "head" as she rubbed it, looking at her mother.

Pathologist Dr Steven Stables said Hail-Sage had suffered a subdural haematoma or a traumatic injury to her brain which he said had probably occurred about a week before her death. The inquest concludes today."

Vomiting toddler had several falls, inquest told - National - NZ Herald News 22 Feb. 2012

[Note: in the minutes after I quoted and linked to this story the opening sentence (and headline) has been re-written: "The judge has slammed the upbringing of the 16-year-old youth jailed for 10 years for raping a five-year-old girl at a Turangi campground". Previously, the opening sentence was as below and some trace of the original headline remains (at the time of writing this note) in the link address to the article.]

"The 16-year-old who raped a five-year-old girl at a Turangi campground has been jailed for 10 years.

Raurangi Mark Marino was sentenced in Rotorua District Court on Wednesday for the attack on December 21 which put the girl, a tourist from Europe holidaying with her family, in hospital for nearly a week.

Marino, who was able to be named for the first time at his sentencing, admitted rape, causing grievous bodily harm by sexual violation and burglary at Taupo Youth Court last month...

...Judge Cooper criticised Marino's whanau for an upbringing that led him to commit such an "appalling and sickening" crime..."

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/13043130/teenage-turangi-rapist-jailed-for-10-years/ 29 Feb. 2012

Turangi Child Sex Attacker Jailed 10 Years | Raurangi... | Stuff.co.nz

"Eighteen months ago, Chantally Baker begged a judge to give her partner Kerry Ratana a second chance. Three months later he killed her daughter. Yesterday she cried in relief as another judge convicted Ratana of sexually violating the girl.

In the High Court at Napier yesterday Ratana, 25, was found guilty of sexually violating five-year-old Sahara Jayde Baker-Koro before he killed her on December 20, 2010.

He had admitted her manslaughter but denied sexually violating her. This was a retrial, after a previous trial ended with a hung jury..."


Mother's mercy ends in girl's rape, death | Stuff.co.nz 15 March 2012


Step-dad guilty of sexual violation - Story - National - 3 News 14 March 2012

Revolting. Nature is indeed red in blood and tooth. Sadly, primitive behaviour gone bad is going to come out in a seriously revolting fashion. From which people do we expect such behaviour to be expressed? To start with, all groups of people. From which people do we expect such behaviour to be more likely and frequently expressed? Yepp, correct answer; from the more primitive people. Deranged animals. Pardon my truth.

"A Rotorua mother who fell asleep after a drinking binge and suffocated her two-month-old son has admitted his manslaughter...

...It is the second baby Tukiwaho has lost after another died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome...

...Crown prosecutor Amanda Gordon opposed bail as she said Tukiwaho had breached bail on previous occasions by drinking and was "heavily intoxicated" when arrested last week.

A summary of facts outlined how Tukiwaho had been drinking heavily at her sister's home in the hours before Tahi died."

Rotorua mother admits manslaughter of baby - Yahoo! New Zealand News 17 April 2012

"The court was told that Tuau, who was 30 at the time of the offending, was temporarily living at the family's Hamilton home with his father, then aged 50, and several of his 11 brothers and sisters."

"Tuau's father had 11 previous convictions for assaults on his other children, for which he had previously been sentenced to two years' imprisonment."

"On October 3 the father, who had been drinking all day, came into the kitchen where Tuau was preparing dinner. Tuau told the court his father accused him of being a molester; an aggressive accusation that he found very threatening."

""Mr Tuau himself, as a result of the abuse he had suffered at his father's hands from an early age, was hypervigilant and fearful, more especially because he was then in a psychotic state," its [Court of Appeal] decision says."

"Tuau first rendered his father unconscious with about 15 blows to the head. He then stabbed him in the left eye with a 27cm boning knife.

"Very fortunately" his father suffered no significant lasting injury."

"On appeal, Tuau contended that sentencing judge Peter Spiller should have allowed him discounts on three related bases: that his father provoked him; that his father had assaulted him from an early age; and that on the day of his offence he was especially vulnerable as he suffers chronic paranoid schizophrenia and was then psychotic."

The Court of Appeal reduced Tuau's sentence of imprisonment by one year from five-and-a-half years to four-and-a-half years.

Man who stabbed father in the eye gets sentence reduced - National - NZ Herald News 17 April 2012

"Name suppression was today lifted on the Raetihi woman who has been charged with the December 7 manslaughter of her nine-year-old son, Antony Christensen, by administering the Class B drug methadone.

She is Claudine Michelle Herewini, aged 42, and appeared in the dock at Wanganui District Court wearing a blue hoodie and looking pale and ill. She leaned against the wall throughout her one-hour appearance, and occasionally sent a smile or wave to a row of her supporters..."



Woman named in methadone case | Wanganui Chronicle 4:04 PM Tuesday Apr 23, 2013