Magistrate blasts young mum for beating up her daughter in shopping centre carpark
A young mum who lost her temper with her five-year-old daughter punched her in the stomach and right eye.
Townsville
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A YOUNG mum who punched her five-year-old daughter in the stomach and right eye has been scolded by a Townsville Magistrate.
In an earlier incident the woman choked her daughter when the girl was just one-year-old.
The 24-year-old who cannot be named, to protect the identity of the child, was at a shopping centre in April this year when she assaulted her daughter.
A member of the public made a complaint to police after witnessing the assault.
Police arrested the woman, who made full admissions about the incident in a police interview.
Police prosecutor Subarna Raut said during the police interview the woman confessed about another incident in 2016.
“The defendant placed her hands around the victim child’s neck and held it tight,” he said.
Mr Raut said the child was currently in the care of the Department of Child Safety.
The woman pleaded guilty to assault occasioning bodily harm and common assault.
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Defence solicitor Margaret Crowther said her client “momentarily lost control”.
“She was not coping, however is now seeking assistance in the form of psychological support,” she said.
“She has accepted that the offending was unacceptable and she is remorseful and wants to address those behaviours.”
Ms Crowther said the woman had completed parenting programs and was learning the skills to deal with a child’s “difficult behaviours”.
Magistrate Ross Mack told the woman she should not “beat up” her daughter.
“Very few parents have gone through their life without being upset by their children but the huge majority get by without punching a kid because parents are the adults,” he said.
“The responsibility is a very heavy one.”
Mr Mack sentenced the woman to 18 months’ probation.
Convictions were not recorded.
Originally published as Magistrate blasts young mum for beating up her daughter in shopping centre carpark