Life now a nightmare with formerly happy children

The Taranaki grandmother battling for ACC help for her sexually abused grandchildren says she is determined to stick by her boys.

"People should hear the story. It's wrong that no-one's helping me. It's not the children's fault. They used to be happy, now it's just a nightmare," she told the Taranaki Daily News.

The children were sexually abused for a year while they were not under her care.

The grandmother is the children's legal guardian after Child Youth and Family asked her to take them back.

"We have had some real trauma. Every day there's screaming, yelling and crying," she said. One boy would not sleep by himself, had to have the light on at night and screamed if he was cuddled.

"They are going to think they are bad. I want someone to help them," she pleaded.

"They have not had a chance. They will never be children again but at least I can try to get them back to knowing what is right or wrong."

She is alone since her partner died last year. The family of three survives on about $300 a week from Work and Income.

"We're finding it pretty hard. My eyes are always swollen from crying. I feel 80 years old, not 50."

The children's mother and father are in new relationships.

- © Fairfax NZ News