By Kate Green of RNZ

Warning: This story contains details that may upset some readers.

Multiple children have been killed or seriously injured in the lower North Island in recent months, but the detective at the head of child protection says she sadly would not describe it as a departure from the norm.

A 3-month-old baby was admitted to Masterton Hospital on July 25, and moved to Starship children’s hospital in Auckland shortly afterwards.

A 22-year-old man was arrested and charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and contravening a protection order.

A 6-month-old baby who was found with critical injuries at a Foxton Beach house died in July, for which nobody had yet been arrested.

That same month, a 3-month-old baby was found to have suffered nine fractures, including to her ribcage, ankle and arm, when she was admitted to Hutt Hospital, police said.

Meanwhile, in a case before the courts, two children aged 4 and 5 – also in Lower Hutt – were hospitalised in March last year with “very, very severe” injuries believed to have been inflicted deliberately over “a long period of time”, police said at the time.

Dakota Allen, 26, pleaded not guilty to multiple charges including assault on a child, wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and attempting to pervert the course of justice a year later.

He and another woman, whose name was suppressed, were due to jointly appear in the Wellington District Court next month.

These followed the case of Baby Ru, officially named Nga Reo Te Huatahi Reremoana Ahipene-Wall, who died at Hutt Hospital on October 22, 2023.

Police confirmed to RNZ on Wednesday there were no updates to report on any of these investigations.

Detective Inspector Rebecca Cotton, national manager of sexual violence and child protection, said: “Sadly, I wouldn’t describe this as a spate.

Detective Inspector Rebecca Cotton. Photo / Melissa Nightingale

“It’s not an aberration on what we’re seeing. Unfortunately, in New Zealand we have cases of child abuse occurring every day, in every corner of the country.”

What had occurred most recently in the Lower North Island had raised more public and media attention because the injuries were more serious than what was typical, she said.

“It’s not a trend, it’s just a set of coincidental circumstances.”

Police, Oranga Tamariki and a wide range of NGOs were working to wrap support around families to prevent this kind of offending, she said.

They were also reliant on members of the public.

“Police can’t battle this alone,” she said. “If someone sees something that they know is not right or they suspect that something is not right or that a child is being abused, I just implore people to speak up.”

There were options for speaking anonymously, she said.

“Police can’t be everywhere, we can’t know everything, and we are reliant on people speaking up.”

- RNZ