Convicted pedophile flees after running over, killing two-year-old boy, says he 'thought it was just a ball'

An Australian man who was convicted of killing a toddler in a hit-and-run case is reportedly a convicted pedophile who previously spent time in prison for possessing child pornography.

According to the Newcastle Herald, a District Court jury found 54-year-old Michael Craig Bullock guilty of one aggravated count of driving without due care and leaving the scene of an accident in the February 2017 hit-and-run death of two-year-old Zayne Colson in Dover Gardens.

During the trial, the court was told that, just before the accident, Zayne was outside his house playing with his two sisters, five and seven. After he was hit by the car Bullock was driving, he was dragged underneath the vehicle for a few meters and left lying on the road, dying. Bullock fled the scene, driving to his home which was just another 100 meters away.

When he reached home, it was his wife who called emergency services, with Bullock reportedly telling the operator that he didn't stop his car after the accident because it "wasn't safe." He later testified during his trial that the accident happened because he had been driving 35 km/h on the residential street and swerved to avoid a young child who ran onto the road from behind a tree.

He claimed he felt something under his rear wheels after, but that he "just thought it was a ball." He added that he felt he was in danger because of an incident six months earlier where a group of seven men tried to break into his house.

Brushing off his argument, Prosecutor Rebecca Gray argued the 54-year-old had no reason to be fearful of Zayne's family and that he knew there were no men living at their home. She said he was probably hesitant to brake because his German shepherd was in his car at the time and was unrestrained.

Family members of the infant were seen in the court wearing shirts with a photo of him, with Great aunt Tania Kearney calling for greater sensitivity to be shown in court to those who have died. "The way that my nephew was described in there was nothing short of disgusting," she said.

After the verdict, Cuthbertson revoked Bullock's bail and remanded him in custody until his sentencing in May, and this is not the first time that the 54-year-old has run into trouble with the law either.

The Newcastle Herald reported that Bullock was sentenced to nine years in prison in 2004 after he pleaded guilty to crimes including having unlawful sexual intercourse with a six-year-old child. Following his release, he has been back to prison for the indecent assault of a 16-year-old girl and two counts of possessing child pornography as well.