Fifteen-month-old Leith Hutchison died after being violently shaken by his father, Dane Blake.
Coroner Louella Dunn’s inquest revealed multiple failures in the child protection system, including poor investigation control by Child, Youth, and Family (CYF), now Oranga Tamariki, and inadequate responses due to assigning an inexperienced social worker to Leith’s case. Leith had earlier suffered a broken femur while under Blake’s care, yet proper protective measures were not implemented, leading to his tragic death.
The coroner’s report highlighted systemic issues, such as flawed processes and lack of leadership within CYF.
The inquest found that significant reliance on a medical opinion and poor inter-agency communication contributed to the inadequate protection of Leith. Numerous adults failed to report visible injuries on Leith, which ultimately culminated in his death from blunt force trauma.
Dunn’s findings emphasised the need for more robust and proactive measures from child protection agencies to prevent such tragedies.
Oranga Tamariki has since implemented changes to improve child protection practices, including enhanced training and supervision for social workers. The agency has updated its multi-agency safety planning guidance and is reviewing the Child Protection Protocol.
In a statement to media, Chief Social Worker Nicolette Dickson acknowledged the agency’s past failures and reaffirmed their commitment to ensuring better protection for vulnerable children like Leith in the future.
This 30 year old man murdered the 15 month old toddler in 2015. It took the police 6 months to arrest him. Many in the family saw injuries on the child after the father had him but said nothing. A totally dysfunctional family.
He pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2017.
Did he only get five years for that?
Was he released from prison in January 2022?
I have also lived in England and Australia and I have never seen the type of sadistic cruelty delivered to babies, toddlers and women as I have witnessed being done by the men in this benighted country.
Hang on a minnit mate, this system throws perfectly fine fathers under the bus.
Every third child in Godzone grows up without a father.
Every (almost every) child grows up with a mother ‘socializing’ them into society.
Every gang boss or vicious child/wife beater had a mother and they became what they’ve become for a reason other than being ‘father’s offspring’.
Every tribe (whatever colour) has a LOT to answer for, and it’s not due to the fathers who are dissed by the Family court.
If you ever have time to read real crime stories read through https://nzfamilycourtwatchdog.com/
One baby dies and there’s an uproar.
Where is the concern for jab miscariage?
Transgenerational genetic mutation?
MORE SERIOUS THAN A NEUTRON BOMB.
The jab mrna now discovered in sperm…….
In sperm.
Transcribed into the geneome…
This is extremely serious and concerning.
Mutant babies. No longer humans as created.
Anyway…… what colours shall we paint the swingset….?????
Ffs….
Poor little boy ☹️
As father to a 2 year old son, these stories make me want to start building gallows in the streets.
These things will keep happening so long as we live in a culture that glorifies and venerates all the 7 deadly sins.
God help us (literally).
In my view, this is what unaccountable government and is agencies, looks like but then that’s the norm in NZ.