A former All Black who admitted a child assault charge was
told by a judge today that police in this country received
calls about family violence every six minutes.
The former player was to be sentenced this morning for a
single charge of assaulting a child.
The charge relates to an incident in their family home in
September last year when the former player assaulted his son
with a belt across the shoulders and legs because the boy had
been fighting with his sister.
However, the sentencing was adjourned today until March 9 so
it could be heard before the judge, who, in an earlier
appearance where the man pleaded guilty, indicated a
discharge without conviction if he completed an anger
management course, which he has done.
Judge Lex de Jong said police were told of similar family
violence cases on an average of every six minutes. A
concerning aspect of the case was the boy was under 14 years
old, he said.
The former player cannot be named because doing so would
identify his son, who has permanent name suppression.
- Andrew Koubaridis of the NZ Herald
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