A response filed by prosecutors argues against the plea withdrawal, saying Sullivan had been thoroughly questioned by the judge at the time she pleaded guilty and clearly made the decision knowingly. At a hearing Thursday, Judge George Masuoka said he would take the motion under advisement. It was not clear when he will rule.

Sullivan had been scheduled for sentencing on the assault charges on Tuesday. She faces a maximum of five years in jail on each count.

Sullivan was charged last year with kidnapping, three counts of assault and terroristic threatening in an April incident. The indictment said she tied her son by the hands and neck, and beat him with a bat and a piece of wood. A doctor said the boy suffered multiple bruises on his body and face, marks around his neck and hands, and swelling around the eyes and on his hands.

In the plea agreement signed by Sullivan, she admits: "I hit my child."

The injured child and a younger brother have been removed from the Sullivan home and placed in foster care by state Child Welfare Services.

At the time of the Jan. 18 plea agreement, Sullivan was represented by attorney Warren Perry. She has hired a new lawyer, former county prosecutor Bill Feldhacker. Neither Feldhacker, who was off island yesterday, nor deputy prosecutor Jennifer Winn could be reached yesterday for comment.

In court papers, Sullivan said the language of the indictment was based on statements her son made, but that they were not "fully true."

"I have never admitted to committing the acts I am accused of in the original indictment, and the only thing I have ever acknowledged is that 'I hit my child,' " she stated.

Sullivan said that she did not realize at the time of her plea that if she had gone to trial, a jury would have been given the option of applying lesser charges than those she faced.

"If I had known," she said, "I would never have entered a plea."

She also said she was under severe stress during the time leading up to the plea, because of her job, the criminal case, the loss of her young children, and the difficulty of caring for a mother with Alzheimer's disease.

In addition, Sullivan said, she was dealing with the dismay of having an adult son arrested by federal authorities at Honolulu Airport after a box cutter blade was found in his shoe. No charges were brought against the man, and officials indicated he appeared not to have been responsible for putting the blade in the shoe.

Kula Aupuni Niihau A Kahelelani Aloha's roughly 35 students in kindergarten through Grade 12 are taught in English, but come from families with ties to Ni'ihau. For many students, Ni'ihau Hawaiian is their first language.