Simon Johannes Broekhuizen, 39, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after earlier admitting to ill-treating a child.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment, but the defendant was sentenced to 150 hours’ community work and 12 months’ supervision.
The court heard that on October 7 last year, Broekhuizen took a 3-year-old girl to the toilet and took her nappy off.
He lost his temper because he thought she had urinated in the nappy.
He held it close to her nose, told her to smell it and rubbed her nose in it.
Broekhuizen left while the child used the toilet and when he returned there was a wet patch on the floor that he thought was urine.
He pushed her head down into it and rubbed her head on the floor and a rough outdoor mat.
The girl cried and Broekhuizen comforted her.
Later, a carpet burn mark could be seen on the child’s face and the defendant admitted to his wife what he had done.
He said he made the girl smell her wet nappy because he thought it was a good way to toilet-train her.
In the past, the defendant had also got the girl to help clean faeces from her own cloth nappies, the court heard.
Yesterday, Judge David Robinson said the child was "defenceless".
"It falls markedly below any standard of responsible care of a child," the judge said.
He noted Broekhuizen had family support in court and multiple character references.
The judge also highlighted the defendant had done parenting courses and other programmes to better himself since the offending.
