Terrorised Household

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30914, 22 November 1965, Page 10

Terrorised Household

GN.Z. Press Association) INVERCARGILL, November, 21.

A man thrashed his two sons, aged eight and nine, first with a leather belt and later with a piece of wire flex which had heavy electrical fittings at each end, until the boys were convulsing and screaming uncontrollably with pain, Mr W. M. Willis, S.M., was told in the Invercargill Magistrate’s "Court.

An Invercargill doctor who examined the boys had found severe bruising on their legs, buttocks, arms and necks. He had said that it was one of the worst cases of its type he had seen, the Court was told. Thomas Matthew McCallum, aged 31, a bushman, admitted charges of assault on Robert McCallum aged nine, and Arthur John McCallum, aged eight. He was remanded in custody until Wednesday for a probation officer’s report and sentence. McCallum had terrorised his household with acts of violence on his wife and his seven children, said Senior Sergeant T. V. Thomson. The family was so terrified of him that they were afraid to seek help.

The instance from which the assault charges arose had been “stumbled on” by the Welfare Department, he said. When McCallum was prepar-

ing to leave for work early on Tuesday morning he discovered a sheath knife was missing from his lunch bag. He immediately thought his two sons had taken it and went to their room, where he awak- , ened them. Both denied having touched the knife but he began thrashing them with a leather belt. McCallum ignored his wife’s pleadings and began to last

both boys with a length of wire flex to which plugs were When interviewed by the police McCallum had no explanation to make. “They are still alive and walking," he said. McCallum had previous convictions for offences of violence, Senior Sergeant Thomson said.