Abuse in the Neighbourhood

Michael from Trentham

Didn't think quick enough late yesterday afternoon. Perhaps it was the cold weather or a Corgi that just wanted to keep going.

Walking past a little 9-10 year old, innocent-looking bare footed and thin school green coloured shirted sleeveless boy who was favouring his arm and shoulder and crying and shivering. So I enquired if he was alright and he shyly said no. He said he had been kicked out of his home after he agreed with me his father had bashed him. Later he said his mother was also at home. He denied he had done anything wrong. He said he had nowhere to go and no close by people he knew.

I told him that he should talk to a teacher that he likes at his school and the teacher will surely do something for him because most teachers are good like that and they have contact details and maybe history.

I was about to take him to my home get him warmed and drive him to his home. But I hesitated. Later my wife said if I had brought a complete stranger child home I could have been accused of being involved in pedophilia.

I chose not to walk with him to his home and confront a maybe vicious, drugged parent and later the child would probably suffer the consequences for bringing another person into the "fray".

Maybe he was not guiltless as he said and looked and did do something to raise the ire of his parent/s. But of course physical reaction on children is outlawed in NZ.

I suppose I could have phoned the police and wait around for ages for them to turn up. In the end I left the poor kid sitting on the wet grass underneath a Totara tree in The Reserve.