Aunt struck niece, age four, in face with a belt
A FOUR-YEAR-OLD girl was hit in the face with a belt by her aunt and sustained injuries which a teacher had not seen the like of during her career.
When questioned about her behaviour, the aunt said: “In this country, when children misbehave people do nothing.”
A sentencing hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday heard the child, who has anonymity, attended school in Cardiff in 2019 and was seen to have bruises to her right cheek.
The teacher asked the girl what had happened and she said she had been stung by a bee.
The teacher was concerned about the injuries and began searching the internet for images of bee stings, when the girl approached her and said “My (aunt) said sorry”. When asked what she was apologising for, the girl pointed to the injuries to her face.
The teacher notified the headteacher about what she had heard, and when they both asked the girl what had happened, she said the injuries had been caused by a belt.
Prosecutor Jason Howells said further bruises to the victim’s forearm were noticed, and at the end of the school day the defendant was prevented from having access to her niece and a referral was made to social services who attended the school.
The child was taken to St David’s Hospital in Canton for examination.
The child suffered a number of injuries, including; a 5cm graze to her right cheek, a red mark to the right arm, a linear scar to her left palm believed to be a burn mark, a scratch mark on her left cheek, a healing wound to her lower lip, and discolouration to her lower back.
It was believed the most plausible explanations for the injuries were more than a single incident of direct trauma from an object such as a belt.
The defendant confirmed she had hit her niece with a belt because she “was not listening to her”, “misbehaving” and “not eating her food”. She claimed she had hit the child on the arm, but it had rebounded and caught her in the face. The defendant was described as calm and showing no remorse as she described her actions.
She was said to have “shown a lack of understanding” and was quoted as saying: “In this country, when children misbehave people do nothing.
“I did not know it was going to go this far.”
The defendant was arrested and gave a no comment interview. She had absconded from an earlier hearing at the magistrates’ court but later pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
Mr Howells said the child was now living elsewhere and no longer had contact with the defendant.
He said the child’s teacher had not seen such bruises on a pupil during 28 years of teaching and “hoped to never see it again”. In mitigation, David Pinnell said his client was unable to work or claim benefits in the UK due to her status as an asylum seeker, and relied on her husband for income.
Sentencing, Recorder Greg Bull KC said: “This was an unforgivable loss of temper by you which has affected your niece and ended your relationship with her and brought you before the Crown court.
“You must understand you are not permitted to chastise children in the way that you did, even when they misbehave.”
The defendant was sentenced to a 24-month community order. She was also made subject to a rehabilitation activity requirement for 10 days.
We have decided not to name the defendant in this article in order to protect the anonymity of the child