On Monday,the woman’s barrister,John Stratton,SC,entered guilty pleas on his client’s behalf to two counts of common assault. He said one of the incidents involved a kick to the thigh.
The court previously heard the incidents,in 2021,also involved the woman hitting the child with a wooden spoon. Stratton said his client will be fighting two charges of intimidation of the child,said to have occurred between January and August 2021.
Phillip English,appearing for the foster father,said his client will be fighting all charges against him:one count of common assault and one count of intimidation. All charges will be heard in a five-day hearing at Parramatta Local Court.
Prosecutor John Marsh argued on Monday that the court can have regard to “a pattern of violence” by the foster mother,handing the magistrate a document setting out this alleged tendency.
Stratton said one of the items on the document was a conversation in May 2021 where his client warned the child that “if[they] continue[their] behaviour,the defendant will slap[them]” .
He said if a threat by a parent to smack their misbehaving child was a crime,it would criminalise “maybe every household in Australia”.
“In the absence of any context,the Crown could not exclude the defence of lawful chastisement,” Stratton said.