For nearly a year, residents in a Onehunga neighbourhood could hear the persistent cries of children coming from a local home, raising serious concerns about their well-being.

Staff at a South Auckland daycare, where an infant boy and his toddler sister spent most of their days, noticed alarming signs of neglect and possible abuse. The children often arrived lethargic, with bruises, in dirty clothes, and wearing nappies that hadn’t been changed since the previous night.

After daycare workers, who sent the boy home twice in one week due to his condition, pressed the mother to seek medical attention for him, police were called in.

This week, the mother, whose identity is protected to safeguard her children, was sentenced to prison after confessing to an Auckland District Court judge that she neglected both children and caused injuries to her son, including a broken arm.

Kingston Tawhiti Edward Tierney-Hooker, 25, who briefly lived in the same household, stood alongside her in court. Initially charged with injuring the baby with reckless disregard, his charge was dropped after the mother accepted full responsibility for the injuries. Instead, Tierney-Hooker was convicted of neglecting the boy by failing to seek medical help and received nine months’ home detention.

“You have to realise … there are consequences for your actions,” Judge Jonathan Moses said, sentencing the mother to three years in prison, stressing the need for a penalty that deters others and “denounces this kind of behaviour.”

The investigation began in January 2023 when the mother, prompted by daycare staff, took her son to Starship Hospital. Doctors documented over 30 injuries, including a broken arm.

Numerous clustered injuries on [the child’s] face, scrotum, inside arms, and front and posterior torso, were visible,” court documents revealed. “Fractures affected all of his limbs, including his right and left forearms, his left upper and lower leg, his right lower leg near the knee and his right lower leg near the ankle.”

A blood test suggested recent trauma, and a doctor concluded the injuries, sustained within the past four weeks, could not have resulted from “typical infant movements.” The pattern of bruises and multiple fractures at different healing stages pointed to repeated trauma severe enough to break bones.

Both the mother and Tierney-Hooker agreed to separate summaries of facts in their guilty pleas, which were largely identical. However, Tierney-Hooker’s document clarified that the mother alone inflicted the injuries, while the mother’s document included a handwritten note implicating both her and Tierney-Hooker.

Court records noted: “Daycare staff observed Mr Tierney-Hooker pick [the boy] up by his forearms or his clothes on occasion, in a manner that was inappropriate for handling an infant. On one occasion when this was raised with Mr Tierney-Hooker, he responded to the effect that [the baby] was okay.” Daycare staff also reported severe, untreated nappy rash on the boy, causing “significant blood and open skin.”

The toddler also suffered a broken arm a week before her brother and was left alone in an empty room without furniture in October 2022 while her mother went drinking with friends in Lynfield. “That night [the toddler] had a meltdown, running around, crying and banging for about 40 to 45 minutes,” court documents stated. “She slept on the floor of the empty room with a bag of snack food and a duvet.”

Since their arrests, the children have been placed in foster care through Oranga Tamariki and are reportedly “thriving,” according to Crown prosecutor Clare Antenen.

The children’s grandfather told the court they were doing well but missed their mother and struggled to understand why they couldn’t be with her. He maintained his daughter did not neglect them, suggesting any emotional harm stemmed from their removal from her care.

“Do you know what the injuries were to [the baby]?” Judge Moses asked him. “He had fractures on every limb.” The grandfather acknowledged the seriousness of the crime his daughter admitted to but questioned whether she caused the injuries.

The mother’s lawyer, Sam Walker, said any denial of responsibility in her pre-sentencing interview likely stemmed from “shame more than anything else.” He added, “She has said this is the biggest regret of her life.”

Walker noted she has completed a 14-week parenting course, engaged in counselling, and worked with Oranga Tamariki to regain custody of her children. He highlighted her difficult upbringing, marked by a strained relationship with her own mother, leaving her without a strong parental role model.

Judge Moses acknowledged her background but set a starting point of three and a half years’ imprisonment for neglect, adding another year and a half for the boy’s injuries. He reduced the sentence by 40% for her guilty pleas, youth, clean record, and rehabilitation efforts.

“You are still young and I’m sure you’ll be young when you’re released from prison,” he told her, urging her to continue addressing her personal challenges.

This case underscores the importance of protecting our most vulnerable and ensuring those who fail in their duty face consequences, while also recognising the value of rehabilitation for those who show genuine remorse and effort to change.