ACT Supreme Court: Churchgoing mother beat daughter with belt, football boot

A churchgoing mother has walked free from the ACT Supreme Court after pleading guilty to beating her child with a belt, and a football boot. Find out what happened.

A churchgoing mother who beat her teenage daughter with a belt and a football boot in a fit of rage has avoided a conviction in the ACT Supreme Court.

The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, previously pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

She was initially charged with six additional charges; an act of indecency against a child under 15, choking/suffocating a person and four counts of common assault, which were all formally withdrawn during the court.

In sentencing, Acting Justice Stephen Norrish described the violence the woman committed against her teenage daughter.

On January 1 2021 the girl, aged only 15 at the time, returned home after visiting a male friend at a nearby park.

The woman believed her child either had sexual relations with the boy or had been sexually assaulted by him.

She slapped her daughter on her face, which made the 15-year-old fall to the ground and curl into a foetal position.

A mother pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to beating her daughter.

The woman punched and kicked her daughter before telling her to go to her room.

After ordering the girl to go to her room the woman found a belt, went into the girl’s room, struck her with the belt before forcibly removing her pants and underwear.

The woman demanded to inspect her daughter’s vaginal area, and after inspecting her daughter’s genitalia she took a football boot and struck her across her body.

The girl attempted to run away, and in an attempt to stop her the woman ripped the girl’s jumper.

While pulling on the jumper the girl was briefly unable to breathe.

The girl managed to leave and quickly put on a skirt which the woman than ripped off.

Then the girl managed to pull on a pair of underwear before running out of the house, partially clothed, to escape the abuse of her enraged mother.

After seeking refuge at a neighbour’s house, the girl contacted kids helpline and had her injuries, which included bruises and swelling, assessed by a doctor.

During the horrific ordeal the offender’s husband made multiple attempts to stop the abuse.

Earlier on Thursday the woman briefly gave evidence where she claimed she did what she did to “protect’ her daughter.

The woman also told the court she didn’t cause all of the injuries the girl had sustained, claiming her daughter self harmed and had eczema and denied belting the girl, despite pleading guilty.

The victim ran from her home to escape her mother’s beating. Picture: Julia Kanapathippillai

At one point Crown prosecutor Erin Priestly confronted the woman about texts she had sent to her daughter where she called her a “piece of s**t”.

The woman agreed she had sent the message, a response which Ms Priestly described as “inconsistent” with her earlier claim to want to protect her daughter.

Defence barrister James Sabharwal told Acting Justice Norrish to consider a non-conviction order, stating a conviction would put her career and work with her church community at risk as it could cancel her working with vulnerable people check.

“She lost her mind just completely,” Acting Justice Norrish remarked.

In sentencing, Justice Norrish said the woman’s difficult and traumatic upbringing “puts the offending into context”.

She grew up overseas where she was one of many children growing up in a family that practised polygamy.

Acting Justice Norrish told the court as a child the woman faced sexual abuse at the hands of another family member, and her parents did not intervene.

He said psychiatric reports indicated the woman suffered from PTSD stemming from her abusive upbringing.

The court heard the offender had a difficult childhood overseas. GENERIC IMAGE. Picture: Supplied.

He said the woman lived a prosocial life, moving to Australia after meeting her husband, becoming an Australian citizen, becoming involved in her church community including mission work, becoming involved in public speaking and sponsoring developing communities overseas.

Acting Justice Norrish said she had been gainfully employed for over eight years before losing her job due to Covid-19, and had since found new employment at a different business.

He said there was evidence of relationships in the family improving, and noted a mother of a former boyfriend of the victim had become close with the woman and was sponsoring her bid to be a member of her child’s school board.

Acting Justice Norrish did not record a conviction and sentenced the woman to a two year good behaviour order

He said he made the order not to salvage the woman’s career but to reflect that her offending was related to past trauma.

Acting Justice Norrish said some firm words to the woman.

“No parent has the right to inflict punishment on their child like this,” he said

“(This order) is not an approval of your conduct.

“You are not justified to act the way you did.”