Thug leaves baby disabled for life after horror attack
A MAN left a four-week-old baby with catastrophic injuries and severe disabilities after violently shaking her, a court heard yesterday.
The brutal attack by Ross Dunn left the infant with a fractured skull, broken leg, eye damage, bleeding and bruising.
His victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is now registered blind and may never walk or even sit up by herself.
Dunn was said to have lost his temper while left in charge of the baby at her home in Edinburgh on November 17, 2013.
Her mother told the High Court in Edinburgh: ‘She is a good little girl but she has been left with very severe, lifelong disabilities.
‘She is not mobile. She is very floppy, like a small baby. She will likely never stand, walk, even sit by herself.’
Dunn, 28, had denied attempting to murder the child, claiming they had both fallen while he was carry- ing her. But a jury found him guilty following a ‘stressful and difficult’ trial.
He was convicted of assaulting her by seizing her by the body, shaking her, striking her against a surface or by means unknown to the prosecutor.
He was also found guilty of failing to seek timely medical help for the child, who is now almost two years old, and failing to tell doctors how she had been injured.
She was admitted to the Royal Hospital f or Sick Children in Edinburgh where it was found that her heart rate was very high, and there were signs that her brain was not functioning.
A consultant in paediatric and emergency medicine said the child was taking occasional pauses in her breathing and documented a ‘high-pitched scream’.
Bruising around her ankle was also noted and prosecutors said that this was suggestive of being caused by ‘gripped fingers’. Dunn claimed he had not intentionally harmed the baby and claimed that he had tripped over a baby walker while holding her.
He said they both fell to the ground and that he had tried to protect her.
Speaking in court, he said: ‘From what I remember, at that point I tried to pull her in towards me. I knew I was going to hit the floor.
‘Immediately I thought she was OK. For the first few seconds I really thought she was OK, but very quickly after that I realised she probably was not.’
Dunn admitted he had problems with his temper and told police he could lose his temper quickly and often overreacted. The trial also heard he had told the baby’s mother he had f allen asleep with the little girl, but that she was OK.
He l ater sent her a message saying the baby was asleep, but had woken herself with hiccups. He denied telling the mother ‘I will go to jail for this’ when she returned home.
Speaking i n court yesterday advocate depute Bruce Erroch said the mother had left Dunn to look after the child, adding: ‘During the few hours she was away something happened to t he baby as a consequences of which she suffered life-threatening injuries.’
He maintained these were consistent with shaking and the consequences were ‘the most appalling combination of disability for a baby to live with for the rest of her life’.
Mr Erroch told jurors: ‘ He lost control. He lost his temper.’
Judge Lord Malcolm deferred sentence on Dunn, who has previous convictions for assault, f or a background report and remanded him in custody.
‘Severe life long disbilities’’