A Warilla mother convicted of assaulting her 10-year-old daughter after viciously grabbing her by the hair when she was too slow in getting ready for school, has narrowly avoided time behind bars.
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The woman, who cannot be named in order to protect the identity of her daughter, gripped the girl by the hair for approximately a minute while getting "in her face" and screaming at her inside their home on the morning of November 25 last year.
The girl's aunt, who was staying with the pair, intervened, telling her sister "get out, leave her alone. I'm not allowing you to hurt [her] anymore".
The mum replied "take the little c--t, I'm done with her", before leaving the house.
Police documents tendered to Wollongong Local Court said the mother had a history of verbally and physically abusing her daughter, to the point the girl had become withdrawn, refused to socialise with others, and often locked herself in her bedroom.
"She.... is unwilling to attend school because she doesn't want friends and teachers to see her crying after being yelled at by her mother," the documents said.
The court heard the abuse becomes worse if the mother is drug-affect.
Meanwhile, the victim's aunt contacted her school after the November incident saying she was too traumatised to attend that day.
This prompted the school to contact police and ask them to check on the victim's welfare.
Police attended the home and spoke with aunt who said she had serious concerns about her niece's welfare.
Officers took out an emergency apprehended domestic violence order on behalf of the girl banning her mother from having any contact with her.
The court heard the mother attended Lake Illawarra Police Station that afternoon enquiring after her daughter's whereabouts.
She was arrested and charged with common assault. When interviewed, she told police she couldn't remember what had happened that morning.
Magistrate Geraldine Beattie sentenced the woman to a community-based 10-month intensive correction order but not before delivering a scathing critique of her behaviour that day.
"She's the mother, she was the one meant to be acting like an adult," she said.
"This child was vulnerable - she's 10 years' old. She can't fight back."
The child is now living with her aunt.
