A pre-school teacher accused of force feeding children in her care has kept her name suppressed.
The woman, in her 50s, appeared in Auckland District Court this morning facing 11 charges against nine different children, all under the age of 5.
According to charge sheets the alleged offending began in 2011 and was still happening as recently as May.
Details in court documents show the woman is accused of washing a 4-year-old child's mouth out with soap and putting tape across the mouth of another.
Three of the charges relate to forcing food into kids' mouths, while six counts allege she smacked them.
Defence lawyer Graeme Newell said he was concerned reporting of the case would compromise his client's right to a fair trial.
The court heard the Education Council was aware of the allegations and the defendant had made a voluntary undertaking not to teach while the matter was before the court.
Mr Newell said she was unemployed as a result of the charges and publishing her name would "make it extremely difficult for her to survive".
But Community Magistrate Jan Holmes said those outcomes were the "inevitable consequences of being in court on these charges".
She refused name suppression for those reasons but granted it after submissions made by lawyer Rob Akroyd, who appeared on behalf of the childcare centre.
He said naming the defendant would see enrolment at the facility drop and innocent parties would be unduly affected as a result.
"It's a small community and a lot of people within the community talk about these sorts of issues," he said.
"Families involved have expressed concern about future media attention."
However, the New Zealand Herald received a letter from "concerned parents" who wanted to make the media aware of the charges so that details were published.
Mr Akroyd also highlighted the potential adverse impact on the woman who ran the pre-school.
He said she was well known around Auckland and had spent years building her reputation.
The police supported suppression of the identities of all parties but did not explain why that was their position.
The woman will be back in court in October and elected trial by jury.
A charge of assaulting a child carries a maximum penalty of two years' jail.
