Two children aged four and five have been hospitalised with severe injuries, indicative of prolonged abuse, according to police and media reports today.
The siblings, who were recently discharged from the hospital, suffered from a wide range of injuries including multiple broken bones, brain bleeds, severe internal injuries, and lacerated internal organs. The discovery came to light two weeks ago following an emergency hospital visit, prompting an immediate police and medical investigation which revealed the injuries spanned several incidents over time, with one child requiring surgery to address the damage.
Recently relocated to Stokes Valley, the family had barely settled into their new home before the incident escalated to hospitalisation.
Police lead investigator Detective Senior Sergeant Rebecca Cotton said the injuries were non-accidental. She appealed to the Lower Hutt community for any information, saying there must be witnesses to the abuse.
Cotton confirmed the children are now in a ‘safe environment’.
According to a report in State media RNZ, despite previous police and Oranga Tamariki engagement with the family, no immediate safety concerns had been identified until now.
The investigation has revealed a pattern of frequent visitors to the children’s home, although no other adults are believed to reside there besides their mother. The family is co-operating with police ‘to varying degrees,’ said Cotton.
‘We do feel that some people that have spoken to police have more information than they’ve already disclosed, so we’re urging those people to come back and tell us everything they know.
‘For anybody else in the community that hasn’t spoken to police, if you have information about how these children were hurt, please come forward.’
In an earlier statement Cotton said police had already conducted area enquiries.
‘If you have any information that may assist Police, please contact us on 105 or via 105.police.govt.nz and reference file number: 240308/4647
‘Alternatively you can report any information anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.’
Image credit: Trym Nilsen
For as long as my wife has promised our kids there’s no such thing as monsters, I’ve always made it a point to warn them that monsters are very very real indeed.
They may look like ordinary people, but they’re monsters through and through.
Grateful those poor children are still alive. I really hope the system doesn’t let them down yet again, but who are we kidding at this point? 😒
Was a race involved?
When is it not?
The family known to police and Oranga Tamariki but no safety concerns. Ha. I’d call that out. Police stated prolonged abuse. These two little ones have been used as punching bags for some time. What an utter disgrace Oranga Tamariki is.