Cory Craik gets community dention after meth-fuelled attack that could have killed baby

Cory Mackenzie Craik crushed his baby against a car, ripped out chunks of his partner’s hair, and told police that if he had landed differently during the attack, he could have killed his child. He was on meth. This week in the Dunedin District Court, Craik walked out with just two months of community detention and nine months of supervision.

The assault happened after Craik’s partner asked him to leave their Waikouaiti home. She tried to barricade herself in a bedroom, but he punched through the door. She fled to the car. Craik followed, carrying their baby. He told her she would never see the child again. The victim got into the driver’s seat of the car and attempted to disable it by pulling out fuses, the police summary said. Then, while still holding the baby, he dragged her from the car by the hair so violently that clumps were torn from her scalp. During the struggle, the baby’s head was repeatedly hit against the vehicle and its body was crushed between Craik and the car. He fell backwards, child still in arms, and later admitted he would have killed the baby if he had landed on his stomach.

It did not stop there. Craik went back into the house and picked up his other baby by the hand and lifted the child off the ground, causing serious strain to the infant’s shoulder. This was not a one-off mistake. It was violent, erratic, drug-fuelled behaviour that placed two babies and a woman in serious danger. His lawyer said he was remorseful. That he had no criminal history. That he was under stress. The judge appeared to agree.

Judge Hermann Retzlaff acknowledged the children were vulnerable and said Craik had a duty to protect them. Instead of a prison sentence, the judge considered Craik’s time already spent on bail and in custody enough. Craik was sentenced to two months’ community detention and nine months’ supervision and made a protection order in favour of the victim.

This should have been national news. If the baby had died, there would be public outrage. Because the child survived, it barely registers. We are becoming numb to child abuse. This was not just a violent outburst. It was a near-death experience for an infant, and the system has once again allowed the offender to walk free. How many more of these cases will it take before we stop waiting for funerals to take action?