A magistrate has dismissed a slew of domestic violence allegations facing William Tyrell’s former foster parents, while upholding counts of intimidation against each.
Arguments over household chores, including cleaning a bedroom and stacking the dishwasher, formed part of the prosecution’s case against the pair.
The former foster mother was cleared of five counts of intimidation, while the foster father had one count of assaulting the child dismissed, in a hearing at Sydney’s Downing Centre today.
Threats to slap the child made by the mother on two occasions were upheld by Magistrate Susan McIntyre as threats of intimidation.
The former foster father was found guilty of intimidation on one occasion while driving the child to school, during which the child was heard “crying and sobbing”, the court was told.
Prosecutors relied on more than 1000 hours of covert recordings made in the couple’s home and vehicles over a period of 14 months in 2020 and 2021 by detectives investigating William’s disappearance.
The former foster mother also earlier pleaded guilty to assaulting the child on two occasions in January and October 2021, striking her with a wooden spoon and kicking her on the thigh while she was sitting on the floor during a timeout.
Lawyers for the woman argued her actions did not constitute a pattern of violence and that she is “distraught and remorseful” for her actions, which the magistrate accepted.
The former foster father was cleared of assaulting the child while implementing a “time out”, which involved him placing his hands on the child’s shoulder and applying pressure in order to place them in a seated position.
Interviews with the child in which they said they had never been hurt by the foster father, helped establish his innocence, McIntyre said.
The child was removed from their class at school by homicide detectives and interviewed in relation to the accusations against their foster mother.
When asked if they like their foster mother they replied, “Yeah we go on walks together. She’s nice and easy to talk to.”
Police also asked if there was anything the child didn’t like about their foster mother.
“She’s very bossy. Always telling me what to do,” the child replied.
Three-year-old William went missing while playing at his foster grandmother’s home in Kendall on the NSW Mid North Coast on September 12, 2014.
Prosecutors are yet to provide an update on the prospect of charges being laid over his disappearance.
A sentence date for the pair, who can not be legally identified, has been set for March 27.
