BASHED BUB LEFT WITH 10 FRACTURES
Three-month-old repeatedly beaten by father
A GOLD Coast man repeatedly beat his threemonth-old son so severely the infant was left with 10 fractures across his small body.
The man pleaded guilty to unlawful stalking, assault and wilful damage.
Judge Katherine McGinness sentenced the man to two years prison. He was released on parole yesterday having served two years and one month in remand.
A GOLD Coast man repeatedly beat his three-month-old son so severely the infant was left with multiple fractures across his small body.
A scan revealed a total of 10 fractures to: His right elbow and forearm, ribs, left arm that had healed significantly, shin bone and upper leg bone on both legs and two small bones in his foot.
The boy’s father walked from prison yesterday after serving two years and one month in remand.
The man kept his shaved head down and looked un- comfortable in his light blue shirt, buttoned to the collar, as his crimes were read out at the Southport District Court.
The 24-year-old cannot named for legal reasons as it will identify his child.
The man pleaded guilty to unlawful stalking, assault and wilful damage.
He did not react when Judge Katherine McGinness described how doctors at the Gold Coast University Hospital believed the appalling injuries occurred between May 1 and June 29, 2016.
“(The doctor) states that in her opinion the fractures, although unknown how they occurred, are consistent with twisting, or direct impact and or tugging,” she said.
Judge McGinness sentenced the man to two years prison. He was released on parole yesterday.
She said she shortened the sentence for the man and did not take into account the time he had already served in order to maximise how long the man would be supervised on parole.
Crown prosecutor Matthew Hynes told the court the infant’s injuries all occurred when his mother, the man’s partner, left the baby in his care.
“They occurred on at least three occasions. He did cause injury to the child and he didn’t seek medical attention for the child,” he said.
The boy’s mother noticed the injuries and twice took the baby for medical treatment.
On the second occasion, on June 29, 2016, she took the baby to Robina Hospital where doctors immediately transferred the boy to the Gold Coast University Hospital, where scans revealed the extent of the boy’s injuries.
The injuries all healed except for his broken elbow which may cause him issues in later life.
A victim impact statement from the boy’s mother described his rehabilitation process as “excruciatingly heartbreaking”.
Mr Hynes said that on April 29, 2016, the man grabbed the throat of his partner and squeezed while she was holding the baby boy and while their two-year-old daughter watched.
After the woman fled and put the children in the car, the man spat on her and she returned to grab some items.
Defence barrister John McInnes, instructed by Legal Aid, said the man had been subjected to violence as a young child and would crawl to his neighbours to sleep.
That couple became his foster family when his biological parents abandoned him.
Mr McInnes tendered a psychological report detailing his learning difficulties and attention deficient hyperactivity disorder.
The man will move in with his foster father in Brisbane and will look for work in construction.
GOLD Coasters deserve to know the identity of a monster in their midst.
But revealing the name of the grub who harmed his baby son – who at the age of just three months was found by doctors to have suffered multiple fractures to ribs and limbs – would also reveal the identities of his children and his former partner.
The woman was an innocent party in a dreadful sequence of abuse and was the one who sought medical help for the poor infant. As reported today, on the second occasion hospital doctors found the fractures. And also as reported, a court hearing yesterday was told how the man had tried to throttle the woman and spat on her when she fled with the children.
This is the dilemma for our society – how to balance exposure and punishment with the rights of a frightened family. In protecting victims’ identities, the cowards who harm tiny, defenceless children and bash partners escape a part of punishment they thoroughly deserve: public vilification. It is however the lesser of two evils.
The District Court heard yesterday that the man had also come from a violent background, but this occurred when he was a tiny child. For most of his childhood and youth he was cared for by a loving foster family – and that is where the cycle of violence should have been broken. He had people who really did care for him. Their example had to count for something.
This might be seen as a double tragedy, but we won’t buckle in our belief that people like this man deserve to have the book thrown at them. In the Bulletin’s view, he deserves to remain in prison.
But the judge recognised the offender had already served over two years while in remand. In releasing him though, she made it clear two years of parole were being added to ensure he kept out of trouble and remained under close supervision. He is also subject to an order not to go anywhere near the woman and children.
As the Bulletin has revealed this past week, the numbers of abused children are at crisis point. Child abuse and domestic violence have become an epidemic that is severely damaging the foundation of our society – the family. Effective solutions must be found, because whatever steps are taken at the moment are inadequate.