Custodial alcoholic dad admits assault on 9-year-old son (New Zealand)

Not ONE WORD on what happened to this boy's mother, or how this piece-of-sh** of a father got custody. Typical...

Dad is identified as ALEXANDER PAUL HAYES.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/8535219/Alcoholic-dad-admits-assault-on-young-son

Alcoholic dad admits assault on young son

Last updated 05:00 11/04/2013

An alcoholic father forcibly dragged his 9-year-old son off his bed causing him to hit his head so hard on the floor he thought he would lose consciousness, the New Plymouth District Court was told.

Alexander Paul Hayes, 52, pleaded guilty to one charge of assaulting a child between July and December last year at their flat and was sentenced on Monday.

The boy, who was also slapped and punched during the assault, has since been removed from his father's care.

Hayes' lawyer Julian Hannam told the court that Hayes had significant alcohol problems for most of his life and accepted the assault was a serious matter. He felt powerless to deal with his drinking and was now going to alcohol and drug services.

Judge Fred McElrea said Hayes was the sole caregiver of the boy at the time. The child was now a ward of the state.

Hayes had now accepted his alcohol addiction and the judge said he agreed with the recommendation for a term of supervision.

However, the judge said Hayes, who was given credit for his early guilty plea, should also be sentenced to community work to provide the punitive element to the offending.

Hayes had six drink-driving convictions which bore out his alcohol problem.

Hayes was sentenced to intensive supervision for six months, during which he was ordered to undergo an alcohol and drug rehabilitation programme and any other counselling needed to reduce the likelihood of reoffending.

He was also ordered to do 80 hours of community work.