All Black's name will stay suppressed over beating

A former All Black who admitted beating his son with a belt will keep his name secret to protect the identity of the victim, his son. The man will be sentenced in the Auckland District Court tomorrow on a single charge of assaulting a child but appeared in court this afternoon seeking permanent name suppression. In November he admitted twice belting his son across the legs and shoulders with the leather tongue section of his belt because he was at the "end of his tether" with the boy fighting with his sister. Judge Pippa Sinclair today granted the boy name suppression and anything that could lead to his identification. She said the suppression order was to protect the child - and not his father. The judge said if his father's name was public it would identify the child, which could lead to him being teased by his peers or feel guilt about what happened. Although she said the child had nothing to feel guilty about, Judge Sinclair pointed to a psychologist's report presented by the former sportsman's lawyer, John Eichelbaum, that noted the boy had a close relationship with his father and was likely to feel guilt about any public embarrassment he may face. Mr Eichelbaum told the court the offending was at the bottom end of the spectrum in seriousness but Judge Sinclair said she didn't accept it wasn't a serious offence. The boy received minor bruising to his shoulder and redness and bruising to his lower leg which received medical attention for. It's believed his school alerted authorities, including CYF and the family, to make sure he did not have any long-term damage. At a court appearance last year, the judge told him it was possible he would receive a discharge without conviction if he continued with anger management counselling and committed no further offences. He was to have been sentenced last year but one of the reasons it was put off was so he could continue anger management courses. When spoken to by police, the former sportsman explained he was at the "end of his tether" over his children fighting. The former All Black is likely to be discharged without conviction tomorrow at his sentencing hearing after he successfully completed an anger management course.