How Could You? Hall of Shame-New Zealand-Hawkes Bay Foster Parents

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Hawkes Bay, New Zealand, “A woman who cared for CYF foster children in Hawke’s Bay is accused of beating them with a hearth brush, a wooden spoon, and a rolling pin on several occasions over 10 years.

The woman’s husband faces one representative charge of wilful ill-treatment and two charges of injuring one of the children with intent between 2004 and 2007.

The woman faces six representative charges of wilfully ill-treating the three children, and six charges of assault using a weapon, all but one of which is representative.

The children were aged between five and 15 when the offending is alleged to have occurred, between October 1998 and August 2008.

The woman is alleged to have used a hearth brush, wooden spoon, rolling pin, vacuum cleaner pipe and a piece of wood as weapons.

She and her husband, both in their 50s, made a second appearance in court yesterday. Both entered not guilty pleas and elected trial by jury.

Interim name suppression, granted when they appeared earlier this month, was to have ended yesterday, but the woman’s lawyer, Eric Forster, applied for it to be continued, because of her health.
He said he accepted that his application “was a little short on its merits at the moment”, as he had not yet received details of a psychological assessment made of his client last week.

Police prosecutor Nigel Wolland opposed the application.

He said the woman had an existing condition but there was no evidence she would suffer extreme hardship if her name was made public.

Judge Bridget Mackintosh said there was a concern that naming the woman might exacerbate her health problems.

“There are medical issues here and I am not a doctor, or a psychiatrist or a psychologist, and I do not want anything to go wrong between now and a case review hearing,” she said.

Mr Wolland said the children had been placed in the couple’s care by Child, Youth and Family Services, as it was called at the time. They were now adults and lived elsewhere.

Other family members, children and witnesses had been interviewed, and were aware of the proceedings.

Judge Mackintosh granted name suppression to the man and woman until a case review hearing in Napier District Court on October 30. Mr Forster was told to file a full application and affidavits with the Crown to support his application for name suppression by October 15.

A CYF spokeswoman said the couple were not “immediately apparent on our records and we are looking into the matter”.”

Couple accused of beating foster kids

[One News 8/29/13]

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