Facing jail for hurting child, 3
A MAN has been told to expect jail for inflicting head injuries on a three-year-old boy who was in his care at a Newtown home.
Kayne David Green, 43, faced the County Court on Wednesday for a pre-sentence hearing after pleading guilty to recklessly causing injury.
The former Newtown man was in a brief relationship with the victim’s mother when she left the boy in Green’s care for a two-hour period in January 2018.
Prosecutor Lachlan Cameron told the court the boy was found with cuts, bruises and bleeding after a family friend made an unannounced visit to the home.
Green claimed the boy had fallen down a flight of stairs while he was setting up a television in another room.
The victim was taken to the Royal Children’s Hospital, where he was assessed by a paediatrician, who formed the view that some of the injuries were inconsistent with an accidental fall.
Green has not revealed how he injured the boy, but has admitted causing a series of bruises to the victim’s neck, forehead, cheeks and eyes.
Mr Cameron said the offending involved a significant breach of trust.
“(The victim) was a very young and vulnerable child,” he said.
“It would’ve had a significant impact on (him) at the time.”
Green also pleaded guilty on Wednesday to making a threat to kill, which stemmed from a separate incident with the boy’s grandmother in August 2018.
On that occasion, Green
(THE VICTIM) WAS A VERY YOUNG AND VULNERABLE CHILD. IT WOULD’VE HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON (HIM) AT THE TIME.”
PROSECUTOR LACHLAN CAMERON
drove to the woman’s Belmont home where he launched into a verbal tirade on the street.
Among a series of threats delivered to the woman, who did not know him, Green stated, “Your f---ing son’s dead” and “You’re all f---ing dead if he doesn’t stop by this afternoon.”
The court heard Green was referring to the father of the three-year-old boy.
Green has been on bail since being charged.
Defence barrister Deanna Caruso said the offending was “clearly” serious and her client was “fully aware” he would be going to jail.
She urged the court to keep the prison term “to a minimum” after raising concerns about Green’s safety in custody.
“He has struggled to come to terms with the reality of the situation he is facing,” Ms Caruso said.
“In essence, his world has frozen in time and there is an enormous amount of fear of the unknown.”
Judge Michael O’Connell said a jail term was inevitable.
“It seems to me that the seriousness of this offending can only be met with a sentence which involves a term of imprisonment that must be immediately served,” he said.
Green’s bail was extended ahead of sentencing on May 4.