Northland caregiver Susan Erutoe jailed for neglect and abuse of vulnerable adults
Susan Erutoe and her husband Charles Te Whata have been sentenced on charges related to the neglect of vulnerable adults. Photo / 123rf
WARNING: This article discusses abuse and may be upsetting to some readers.
For years, a victim’s whānau had to hand over petrol and supermarket vouchers just to snatch a few minutes with their loved one – a woman who had steadily been cut off from the world by her caregiver.
It wasn’t until a young boy bravely revealed what he’d seen inside the caregivers’ home the truth surfaced: two vulnerable adults being beaten, threatened and left in bed with wounds so severe, they were close to fatal.
After four years before the courts, Susan Erutoe, also known as Te Whata, and her husband Charles Te Whata have now been sentenced on charges related to the neglect of vulnerable adults.
The charges were laid in 2022, and the couple pleaded not guilty but in March, and one week before the trial was scheduled to start, they pleaded guilty.
Erutoe pleaded guilty to two charges of ill-treatment of a vulnerable adult related to two victims. Both charges are for a range of abuse across a three-month period.
Te Whata pleaded guilty to two charges of assault.
On Wednesday, the court heard for the first time Erutoe was receiving a government payment to look after the two adults who had disabilities and required around-the-clock care.
The offending came to light when a child disclosed what they had seen occurring while in the care of Erutoe.
The witness disclosed to police they had seen Erutoe hitting one of the women almost weekly and intimidating her daily.
In relation to that victim, Erutoe had a stick she called “Tama” and would taunt the victim with it.
“She made jokes about the weapon she used on her and made jokes about it being her boyfriend,” Crown lawyer Alex Goodwin told the Whangārei District Court.
Erutoe repeatedly hit the victim with the stick and made her eat a rotten lemon and a raw onion.
She also threatened to burn her with hot knives she heated on a blow torch.
Te Whata would also beat this victim and gave her a bloody nose on one occasion.
In relation to the other victim, who was bedridden, when police came to the property following the tip-off, they found she had a 6cm sore that required urgent attention.
She also had head lice, food lying underneath her and was in a poor state of condition.
The summary of facts said Erutoe would belittle the woman and sing her a song calling her an “a**hole”.
A member of that victim’s family read a victim impact statement at sentencing detailing how Erutoe had isolated the woman from her family and the ongoing impact.
“She experiences paranoia, confusion and distress regularly. She talks to walls for companionship and often believes her children are hurt or dead. She has extreme fears that someone will come into her room and assault her.”
She said for years the woman was kept from special events and they were bribed to give Erutoe petrol vouchers and supermarket vouchers just to see her.
“Our whānau knows Susan’s behaviour presents itself as a pattern,” she said.
“If there is no accountability other vulnerable people could suffer similar harm in the future.”
‘Gross lack of care’
The woman said they had lost precious years with the victim under the guise she was receiving respectful care.
“That level of neglect shows a serious failure to provide even the most basic care and human dignity,” she said.
“At the very least, it shows a gross lack of care for her if you were unaware that she had that sort of wound.”
The Crown agreed with the words of the victim and said Erutoe was in a position of trust and authority which she abused.
“The defendant was the formal caregiver, she was paid by the state to provide that care, she accepted that position and was paid with state resources to provide a level of care and it was a level of care she did not meet,” Goodwin said.
Erutoe’s lawyer Connor Taylor said she was under a huge amount of stress and she did not know about the wound as bathing care was provided by another caregiver.
“Yes she failed. She puts her hand up,” Taylor said.
Taylor said Erutoe did not have the skills in nursing or medical care which meant, she was going to fail.
Judge Peter Davey did not accept she did not know about the wound given it had got to a potentially life-threatening state.
“At the very least, it shows a gross lack of care for her if you were unaware that she had that sort of wound,” Judge Davey said.
Judge Davey accepted Erutoe was under stress but pointed out, she had never asked for help.
“I accept there must have been a significant amount of stress on you in looking after both of them that’s been outlined in the correspondence from the health professionals. But it’s also difficult to recognise the stress from being unable to care for them and also some of the deliberate ways that you actually treated them. The assaults, the way you belittled them and the threats that you made.”
Erutoe was jailed for two and a half years and Te Whata was sentenced to six months’ home detention.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/ Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.