Baby's head ‘crushed' while partner assaulted

Otago Daily Times

20 hours ago

Cory Craik leaves court. PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY
An Otago man "crushed" his child against a car while ripping out tufts of his partner's hair and later dangled his baby by its arm, a court has heard.
Cory Mackenzie Craik, 29, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after earlier admitting assault with intent to injure and ill-treating a child.
The court heard that on October 6, the defendant got into an argument with his partner at their Waikouaiti home.
The woman asked him to leave before fleeing to her bedroom, where she sat with her back against the door.
Craik demanded to be let in and when he was not, punched the door, causing the wood to split.
He wanted the children's birth certificates and the victim relented, opening the door and making her way to the car parked in the driveway.
Craik picked up his baby and also went to a car.
He told the woman she would "never see her child again".
Fearing he would follow through with the threat, the victim got into the driver's seat of the car and attempted to disable it by pulling out fuses, the police summary said.
While holding the baby, Craik reached into the car and pulled the woman out by her hair with such force tufts of her hair were removed.
The court heard the baby's head was "repeatedly impacted" against the vehicle and its body was "crushed" between the car and the defendant as he wrestled with the victim.
Still holding the child, Craik pulled the woman to the ground, but fell over as he did so, landing on his back.
He told police "if I had landed on my stomach, I would have killed [the baby]".
The defendant took the child into his other baby's room and picked that child up by its hand, dangling it in the air and "causing significant strain on [its] underdeveloped shoulder joint", the police summary said.
Yesterday, counsel Libby Hadlow said her client was remorseful for his offending and had written a letter to the court expressing this.
Craik wrote he was "making an effort to move forward and embrace the future" and acknowledged his behaviour was "immature".
Ms Hadlow also emphasised Craik had no criminal history.
"It was a period of stress for him and he did resort to using substances," she said.
After the incident, the defendant admitted to a Probation officer he had consumed methamphetamine on the day.
Judge Hermann Retzlaff said the crimes seemed to have occurred "out of the blue".
He noted the children were vulnerable and entitled to be protected by Craik.
Judge Retzlaff sentenced Craik to two months' community detention and nine months' supervision and made a protection order in favour of the victim.
In reaching the outcome, the judge considered the 40 days Craik spent in custody and the six months' on electronically-monitored bail. — APL