A man who kicked his niece in the stomach and consequently threatening the life of her unborn child has been found guilty of multiple assault charges on two women.

Alain Estall appeared before Justice of the Peace Tangi Taoro in the Criminal Court for a reserved decision yesterday.

JP Taoro said the victims, his sister and niece, were assaulted by Estall on the evening of October 14, 2021.

He was found guilty on four charges of assault on a female and two of intent to injure.

In reading out the reserved decision, JP Taoro said the trio resided in a family home together where wooden boards had been put in place of missing windows in a couple of the bedrooms.

On the night of the incident, Estall had been out drinking with friends and came home to find the wooden boards had been removed from both bedrooms.

An argument followed with the niece and she closed a bedroom door on him.

He grabbed her by her throat and pushed her to the ground. He kicked her in the head and stomach, she was pregnant at the time, the court heard.

His sister, her mother, came into the room, and he shoved her against a wall. In the ensuing scuffle, he grabbed them both by their arms and pinned them against the wall.      

The niece fled the scene and alerted police.

His sister sustained bruises and cuts while his niece suffered a haemorrhage and had to stay in hospital for two days.

Estall said he had been abused by the pair.

His sister said he had made structural changes to the residence and moved personal affects in the process. He had removed a wall and bedroom door so she attempted to rebuild the wall.

When he returned home on the evening of October 14, the others heard banging coming from one of the bedrooms.

Estall denied grabbing his niece by the throat but the sister said she saw him with his hands on the niece’s throat, and punching her in the chest and body.     

The sister entered the scene and threw herself against the defendant before he pinned both of them against the wall.

The sister kicked the defendant in the leg and yelled to her daughter to get help.

Estall said he grabbed both of them to stop them assaulting him.

The niece screamed and told him to stop because she was pregnant.

She was examined by a doctor on October 15 and an ultra sound found she was seven weeks pregnant.

The doctor found she was traumatised and had suffered bruising to her arm, collar bone, shoulder blade, tail bone, and head.

There was bleeding under the placenta which was consistent with trauma.

The defendant denied kicking her. He admitted grabbing his sister and pushing her to the ground.

Photographs taken the following day showed he had cuts and scratches to his face.

The matter was adjourned to March 27, 2024, a probation report ordered and the defendant released on bail on a current protection order.