Woman convicted of years of torture
A jury has accepted the evidence of two teenage boys who say they endured years of torture – including beatings and burnings – at the hands of a caregiver.
The 60-year-old woman who was found guilty of 27 charges on the 10th day of the Christchurch District Court trial is now in custody awaiting sentence in August.
Judge Alistair Garland warned her that she faced a likely jail term because she had showed no sign of remorse or acceptance of responsibility.
He granted the woman, who emigrated to New Zealand in 1997, continued interim name suppression but warned that the order may be lifted at sentence.
Crown prosecutor Kathy Basire told the court that the two boys who were the victims of her abuse wanted her name published. She said: “We seek interim suppression until sentencing so that we can talk to them about it appropriately.”
Judge Garland asked for a pre-sentence report for the August 26 sentencing. He told the woman: “As matters stand, I cannot see the possibility of any sentence short of imprisonment. It is not in the interests of the community to grant bail.”
The woman showed no emotion as the jury foreperson read the verdicts, and when she was remanded in custody for sentence.
The jury found her guilty on 27 of the 29 charges in the indictment.
She was charged with assaults, assaults using various household implements as weapons, and one charge of poisoning by making a boy eat chilli pepper as punishment. The victims were two boys and an elderly man. The jury returned not guilty verdicts on two charges of assault on the elderly man, who did not give evidence at the trial because he has now been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Both boys did give evidence, telling of assaults by kicking, punching, slapping, using a belt and stick or a metal rod as a weapon.
Both boys told of horrendous assaults where the woman held them and forced heated spoons or what they called “fire rods” – hot pokers – into their mouths. They said their mouths were burned and they could not eat or drink for days.
The Crown said the woman had assaulted the elderly man with a stick, leather strap, spatula, brush, and by punching and kicking him. The woman did not give evidence for her defence at the trial, but other witnesses were called to say they had seen no sign of the alleged abuse taking place.
Defence counsel Kirsten Gray told the jury on the trial’s first day to keep an open mind as they listened to the evidence. The defence case was that the woman had been “stitched-up” by a “web of lies” being told by people she was trying to help.
The defence was that the boys had not taken earlier opportunities when they could have told about the abuse.
The boys said they were too terrified to speak out.
Judge Garland summed up on Monday morning and the jury returned its verdicts after more than a day of deliberations.
Category: News
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