SENTENCE ‘TOO SOFT’
A GOLD Coast father shook his four-month-old daughter so hard the child, now three, will never recover, has no quality of life and needs two full-time carers.
Yet the man could be released on parole in less than two years after being sentenced to just six years jail yesterday.
Child safety advocates have called for the sentence to be appealed and the justice system “overhauled”.
A GOLD Coast father shook his four-month-old daughter so hard the child, now three, will never recover, has no quality of life and needs two fulltime carers.
Yet the man could be released on parole in less than two years after being sentenced to just six years jail yesterday.
Child safety advocates have called for the sentence to be appealed and the justice system “overhauled”.
Crown prosecutor Matthew Hynes detailed the heartbreaking day-to-day account of the young girl during her father’s sentencing in the Southport District Court yesterday.
“It’s a state of living you would not wish on your worst enemy,” he said.
Mr Hynes said the girl was in constant pain, needed someone to suction her mouth because she could not swallow, and cannot move or eat without help. The father, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of grievous bodily harm.
Judge Julie Dick described the “vigorous shake” as an “extreme loss of control.”
She sentenced him to six years with parole eligibility on March 7, 2021.
The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, shook the girl while looking after her in 2016. The court was told he then ran to a neighbour to seek help and told paramedics the baby had an allergic reaction.
His story about what happened continued to change as he learnt more about her medical condition, the court was told.
Mr Hynes said medical evidence the baby had been shaken was “overwhelming”.
“I have no idea what happened in that house,” he said.
“We know the force used was far in excess for any reasonable human.”
The father’s barrister, Chris Wilson, said the shake happened because “he thought he was losing her and tried to keep her awake”.
“His perception was that he could have lost her … he had a real concern that she was unwell and tried to rouse her,” he said. “It was excessive.”
Mr Wilson said the father, who worked in the mines, had lost the care of his other children from a previous marriage.
He said he saw the girl in supervised visits three times a week when he was on the Gold Coast.
Mr Wilson said the father was a New Zealand citizen and risked being deported.
He said the father had a roster for two weeks at work and a week on the Gold Coast.
Bravehearts founder Hetty Johnston called for AttorneyGeneral Yvette D’Ath to appeal the sentence.
“That is a life sentence for the child – why can’t it be a life sentence for him?” she said.
“This shows how little value we place on our children.”
A spokeswoman for Ms D’Ath said as with “normal process”, the decision would be reviewed by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and a recommendation would be made if there were legal grounds to appeal.