Abused three-year-old girl loses fight for life

**Hepcat** · 08-03-2007, 09:19

This story completely sickens me, they first had the story of the abuse and the child being flown to Starship Hospital about a week ago and now sadly she has lost her life. I'm ashamed it happened in my hometown and that every day I pass the house it happened at on the way to school.

Nia Glassie, the Rotorua toddler who allegedly suffered months of abuse, has died at Auckland's Starship Hospital.

The toddler was flown to Starship from Rotorua on July 27 after suffering what is alleged to be months of abuse, which included being hung on a clothesline and spun in a tumble dryer.

http://nz.news.yahoo.com/070803/3/13uf.html

Someone who puts a child in a tumble dryer clearly doesn't belong in normal society and shouldn't ever be allowed back into society in my humble opinion. Or at least not for a very long time.

And the saddest part is that the neighbors knew a little about what was going on but didn't want to say anything, so this could have been avoided were it reported.

**Fragony** · 08-03-2007, 09:26

There are some sick people in this world. Need more public hangings.

**Andres** · 08-03-2007, 09:34

Sick. Really sick.

**Xehh II** · 08-03-2007, 09:36

The people who did this should die a very horrible and painful death.

**Banquo's Ghost** · 08-03-2007, 10:10

A tragic story.

However, can we refrain from turning the thread into one of our traditional "I can think of something much nastier than that" punishment rants which gets locked after seven posts?

Thank you kindly.

**Odin** · 08-03-2007, 12:59

What always amazes me with these stories is the amount of people who had some knowledge of the abuse. I mean there are 4 people directly involved according to the story, how is it that not one of them had the decency to do something?

My cynicism of humans continues to be reenforced.

**Papewaio** · 08-03-2007, 13:12

6 billion... you will find a few defective products.

**Odin** · 08-03-2007, 13:14

Originally Posted by Papewaio

6 billion... you will find a few defective products.

Absolutely, but 4 people privvy to the abuse of a 3 year old and not one lifts a finger to do anything. You would think one of them would have an inclination to act, particularly when they heard the thudding noise of the child slamming against the dryer wall....

Maybe my expectations are to high, again.

**Papewaio** · 08-03-2007, 13:23

Not at all your expectations are normal, as a farm boy I believe in culling out the herd.

**Banquo's Ghost** · 08-03-2007, 13:43

Originally Posted by Odin

Absolutely, but 4 people privvy to the abuse of a 3 year old and not one lifts a finger to do anything. You would think one of them would have an inclination to act, particularly when they heard the thudding noise of the child slamming against the dryer wall....

Maybe my expectations are to high, again.

I think your expectations are spot on, but it can be a difficult judgement.

For example, I once saw a mother lathering the daylights out of her five-year old child outside a shopping centre. Not just a smack, but full blooded blows to head and body. Most people hurried by.

I called the Garda on my mobile and went up to the woman and demanded that she stop. She started to bellow abuse at me and now, the general public seemed interested to intervene - on her behalf. By the time the gard had arrived, it was I who was being characterised as the criminal for "interfering" in the right of a parent to chastise their child.

Social services face this kind of thing on a daily basis - on the one hand derided for not saving a child from this kind of horrendous abuse, and the next accused of breaking up families on flimsy evidence. It's not made any easier when abusers are often very clever at covering up and often have plausible explanations.

Who would want to shop their neighbour for suspected child abuse when one would know that might mean the destruction of a family - a family that might seem terribly normal most of the time?

That said, in the context of the news item, I read it as if all four were actually complicit in the abuse, so none would be likely to complain.

**Odin** · 08-03-2007, 13:56

Originally Posted by Banquo's Ghost

I think your expectations are spot on, but it can be a difficult judgement.

For example, I once saw a mother lathering the daylights out of her five-year old child outside a shopping centre. Not just a smack, but full blooded blows to head and body. Most people hurried by.

I called the Garda on my mobile and went up to the woman and demanded that she stop. She started to bellow abuse at me and now, the general public seemed interested to intervene - on her behalf. By the time the gard had arrived, it was I who was being characterised as the criminal for "interfering" in the right of a parent to chastise their child.

Social services face this kind of thing on a daily basis - on the one hand derided for not saving a child from this kind of horrendous abuse, and the next accused of breaking up families on flimsy evidence. It's not made any easier when abusers are often very clever at covering up and often have plausible explanations.

Who would want to shop their neighbour for suspected child abuse when one would know that might mean the destruction of a family - a family that might seem terribly normal most of the time?

That said, in the context of the news item, I read it as if all four were actually complicit in the abuse, so none would be likely to complain.

Well okay in this vein you make a valid point about 1. social services dillema, and 2. as a private person what should be your recourse.

I have a neibhor who lays into there kid from time to time and I can hear them, and I live a fair distance from them and the street. I would hope that if that kid is getting it bad that the mother or sibling or someone else within the family structure would at least make the call.

Your points are fair though.

**Samurai Waki** · 08-03-2007, 14:31

This...this fills me with a rage I don't think even I can comprehend. Its a rage of both complete sadness and anger, that humanity continues to shrink so low, and be so utterly barbaric... I'm seething at the thought. And Perhaps, the only reason I am, is because my little girls mean everything to me, even my life it were necessary, and to think an individual could be so callous, so reckless, and misguided with their offspring just makes me in a sense feel hopeless for humanity in general. Maybe thats why I feel so angry, humanity is hopeless, we are too savage, living in a world where the strong, nor the insane needn't survive. A Part of me, almost wants something to happen to this planet that is so terrible, and so traumatic that it brings us so close to the precipe of annihilation that we cannot go back to the way things were.

**Banquo's Ghost** · 08-03-2007, 14:40

Originally Posted by Odin

I have a neibhor who lays into there kid from time to time and I can hear them, and I live a fair distance from them and the street. I would hope that if that kid is getting it bad that the mother or sibling or someone else within the family structure would at least make the call.

So would I. Sadly families often "rally round" abusers - or are subject to abuse themselves (through familiarity, for example, so it doesn't seem "wrong") so it is left to others to make the step that saves the child.

But if a child in our orbit ended up in the news above, how guilty would we feel if we hadn't reported our suspicions as neighbours? Should we feel guilty at all?

@ Wakizashi. The truth is there are very few evil abusers like this compared to the many millions of loving, gentle parents that enhance their children's lives beyond measure. No need to condemn the human race for these aberrations.

**Devastatin Dave** · 08-03-2007, 14:57

I cannot begin to imagine why anyone could harm a child especially in such extremes. Its unfortunate that you have to have a licence to drive a car, own gun, hell, even to check a book at the library. But any bung hole that can shoot man gravey or any degenerate female canine can squirt out a kid and "raise" them however.

Here's a sad thought though and kind of heartless but I'll say it for the sake of discussion... Maybe the fact that the child died is a good thing. The cycle of violence has hopefully been broken. I know that this opinion is probably bunk but this sort of violence is passed down. Sad, sad story...

**Husar** · 08-03-2007, 15:03

Originally Posted by Devastatin Dave

Here's a sad thought though and kind of heartless but I'll say it for the sake of discussion... Maybe the fact that the child died is a good thing. The cycle of violence has hopefully been broken. I know that this opinion is probably bunk but this sort of violence is passed down. Sad, sad story...

I actually had a similar thought because the life of that child could well have been horrible after all that abuse. Sadly there are these things which leave big scratches on the soul.

**seireikhaan** · 08-03-2007, 16:38

Originally Posted by Husar

I actually had a similar thought because the life of that child could well have been horrible after all that abuse. Sadly there are these things which leave big scratches on the soul.

Indeed. Scars on the body heal, they stop hurting and are only a visible reminder of the wound. Scars on the soul might never heal. In fact, if this child had in fact lived and gone to raise a family, she might have very well done the same sort of thing to her child. Of course, there's no way to prove this, but ugh, this story just sickens me. I myself have issues with small children at times, but never could I dream of hitting them or any of the crap that this child was put through. You simply just can't do this to your child. If your sane, that is.

**lars573** · 08-03-2007, 17:02

At times like this you need a specialist to deal with these things.

Someone like, the Punisher.

**Bijo** · 08-03-2007, 19:19

Well, what can you say? **** happens because people are foolish, silly, simple, ignorant, emotional, violent, immoral, etc. Some cases like the one of the article are worse than others, but if you regard the whole basically it is all ****** up.

What can you do about it? Become angry? Become sad? It won't help.

**Hepcat** · 08-03-2007, 21:53

Originally Posted by Banquo's Ghost

For example, I once saw a mother lathering the daylights out of her five-year old child outside a shopping centre. Not just a smack, but full blooded blows to head and body. Most people hurried by.

I called the Garda on my mobile and went up to the woman and demanded that she stop. She started to bellow abuse at me and now, the general public seemed interested to intervene - on her behalf. By the time the gard had arrived, it was I who was being characterised as the criminal for "interfering" in the right of a parent to chastise their child.

Social services face this kind of thing on a daily basis - on the one hand derided for not saving a child from this kind of horrendous abuse, and the next accused of breaking up families on flimsy evidence. It's not made any easier when abusers are often very clever at covering up and often have plausible explanations.

Who would want to shop their neighbour for suspected child abuse when one would know that might mean the destruction of a family - a family that might seem terribly normal most of the time?

Thats the sort of thing the police, and even the Prime Minister have said we should all be doing after this, becoming nosy neighbours. The neighbours did know that the child had it rough in that house for a long time before this, they didn't know the full extent, but they knew. It's just that they didn't report anything. I would also like to point out that the illustrious anti-smacking law didn't do anything to help stop this which has been my point all along.

Also I think maybe the fact that it was a rough neighbourhood would have meant the neighbours were weary about reporting in their neighbours.