A judge has stopped just short of imposing the maximum sentence in a domestic violence case that spanned five years and included assaults on nine-week-old twins.
Justice Lang on Friday sentenced a man to nine years and four months in jail - eight months less than the maximum for wilfully ill-treating a child. He had earlier pleaded guilty to 21 charges.
The High Court in Auckland was told that the 34-year-old, whose name is suppressed to protect his family, subjected his wife and five young children to mental and physical abuse that included using weapons such as a hammer, a vacuum pipe and an extension cord.
A victim impact statement read out to the court from his now former wife detailed years of repeated beatings the man gave her and their children.
The court was told that the man punched her in the face while she was pregnant and used a hammer to beat her on her knees. The couple's nine-week-old twins were pinched and dropped into their cots, leaving one of them with a broken shoulder.
The woman said she was left feeling hopeless and attempted suicide on several occasions. She said she went to police after the man asked her which one of the twins she would like to see die first.
In sentencing the man, Justice Lang said he needed to also impose a minimum non-parole period of five years and nine months to reflect the serious nature of the offending.
Chance missed to identify abuse
An advocate for domestic violence victims says it is unfortunate that the abuse of the woman and her five young children was not picked up sooner.
Mary McGee from the organisation Shine told Radio New Zealand's Checkpoint programme on Friday that Auckland Hospital missed a chance to identify the abuse when the woman came in for treatment.
"Everybody should be screening - the schools, the sports clubs, churches, neighbours. Everybody should be looking out for this because it is like a pandemic out there."
Ms McGee said her group is working with hospitals to introduce domestic violence screening.
