New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments

Topic

Ill-treatment of a child

Legal area

Court

3 Feb 2022

R v RAWIRI [2022] NZHC 102

Citation

[2022] NZHC 102
Court

High Court

The Court adopted a global starting point of seven years and six months' imprisonment for the totality of offending (failure to protect and ongoing ill-treatment), finding aggravating features of victim vulnerability, significant breach of trust, prolonged offending, callousness and severe victim impact; it then applied discounts of 15% for a late guilty plea, 5% for personal background and 5% for remorse and rehabilitative prospects, producing an overall concurrent sentence of five years and seven months' imprisonment.
9 Jul 2021

R v SIO [2021] NZHC 1709

Citation

[2021] NZHC 1709
Court

High Court

Defendant convicted of murder sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum period of imprisonment of 17 years. The judge fixed a notional starting point of 18 years 3 months based on vulnerability of the five-year-old victim, gross breach of trust, duration and brutality of abuse and concealment; allowances for a guilty plea and disadvantaged background could reduce the notional sentence by up to three years but not below the statutory floor of 17 years, and the court concluded a 17-year MPI was not manifestly unjust.
2 Feb 2018

M (SC 7/2018) v R [2018] NZSC 4

Citation

[2018] NZSC 4
Court

Supreme Court

Given the exceptional procedural circumstances (co-accused Z had been granted leave and the issue under s 195 was common to both), the Court exercised its discretion to extend time and grant leave to appeal directly to the Supreme Court so that the conviction under s 195 could be determined in relation to both appellants together, and set a timetable and hearing date.
17 Nov 2017

Z (SC 79/2017) v R [2017] NZSC 172

Citation

[2017] NZSC 172
Court

Supreme Court

Leave to appeal against conviction was granted because the approved question (whether the Court of Appeal should have allowed the applicant's appeal under s 195) justified further consideration by this Court; leave to appeal against sentence was declined because it did not raise an independent point of importance nor a risk of miscarriage.
26 Oct 2017

R v M (CA111/2017) & Anor [2017] NZCA 483

Citation

[2017] NZCA 483
Court

Court of Appeal

The District Court erred by understating the scope of M's offending by focusing on a single cook and by requiring proof of ongoing harm to uplift for ill-treatment of a child; accordingly the Court of Appeal increased the starting points (including uplifts for offending on bail and child ill-treatment), imposed a 50% minimum period for M, and resentenced both respondents to reflect the totality of offending.
3 Mar 2017

SHAILER v R [2017] NZCA 38

Citation

[2017] 2 NZLR 269
Court

Court of Appeal

The Court held the offending by both appellants — prolonged, extreme, joint assaults and failure to seek medical treatment of a defenceless three year old — fell within the most serious manslaughter cases such that a life starting point was appropriate; Shailer's mental disorders did not materially diminish culpability on the facts; Haerewa was not merely a secondary participant; the sentencing Judge permissibly converted an otherwise appropriate life starting point into a finite global sentence of 17 years to reflect early guilty pleas and personal mitigation and imposed a nine year minimum…

New Zealand Case Law

R v RAWIRI [2022] NZHC 102

R v SIO [2021] NZHC 1709

M (SC 7/2018) v R [2018] NZSC 4

Z (SC 79/2017) v R [2017] NZSC 172

R v M (CA111/2017) & Anor [2017] NZCA 483

SHAILER v R [2017] NZCA 38