The mother of two Lower Hutt children who sustained horrific injuries and the man accused of wounding one of them have both pleaded not guilty during their first appearance in the Hutt Valley District Court.
The young siblings, aged four and five, were taken to hospital on 8 March with multiple serious injuries including broken bones and internal injuries. One of them suffered a brain bleed.
The "very, very severe" are believed to have been inflicted deliberately over "a long period of time".
One had "brain bleeds and severe internal injuries", police said.
Both the accused were granted name suppression today, to protect the children's identities.
The woman faced charges of failing to protect two children from assault between January 2023 and 8 March this year, the day they were admitted to hospital. She faced two further charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice, and refusing to assist police with a search.
Wearing prison-issue overalls and a baggy sweatshirt, with her hair scraped back in a ponytail, she showed no emotion as her lawyer argued for bail. That was denied by the judge and she was remanded in custody.
Her co-accused appeared directly afterwards, at which three women in the public gallery started to cry inaudibly.
He pleaded not guilty to wounding the five-year-old on 8 March with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, one charge of conspiring to pervert the course of justice, one charge of ill-treating a dog and other charges of cultivating and selling cannabis.
Both elected trial by jury and will appear again in May.
As the man left the dock he called out to the women in the gallery.
The suspected abuse was uncovered three weeks ago, when one of the children was taken to hospital in an ambulance. Hospital staff alerted police.
Police today said the siblings were recovering well and were in a safe place.
