Man avoids jail despite 'shaking' baby and inflicting 'car crash-like' injuries with bleeds to brain and spine
WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND: A man who reportedly left a baby with "car crash-like" injuries after violently "shaking" them has avoided jail time.
Liam Connor, from Tipton, was 18 years old when he left the child, whose age is unclear, with bleeds to the brain, eyes, and spine. Now 22, the suspect admitted cruelty to a child during an appearance at Wolverhampton Crown Court. However, he will not face any prison time. Prosecutor Antoine Muller said Connor had been with the child at a property in Black Country at the time of the incident. Paramedics were called to the address after he emerged with the "pale and floppy" child who was crying.
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The victim was rushed to Russells Hall Hospital, where doctors found the baby had suffered "internal trauma" to the brain. Other injuries included bruising to the jaw, face, and under the chin, as well as their leg and thigh. The child also sustained hemorrhages to both eyes, the brain, and the spine, the court heard. Muller told the court that medics described the injuries to be "very similar to a road traffic accident or a long fall, systematic of a crash." The prosecutor said the injuries were also "symptomatic of shaking." Fortunately, the child has since made a full recovery.
Defense attorney Mukhtar Ubhi said the incident was a "one-off," while Connor admitted that his actions were "reckless," adding, "It's something that should not have happened." Ubhi said his client "has been living with it for the last four years." The court was told that Connor had a previous conviction for taking a vehicle without consent in 2017, according to Birmingham Mail.
During sentencing on Monday, November 7, Judge Michael Chambers KC said the case was "troubling and noted how the child had been seriously injured as a result of the defendant's actions. He cited medical reports that stated the baby had experienced an "accelerated then decelerated event, in other words, some degree of shaking." The judge noted how the child was intubated and taken to hospital where a scan revealed they had suffered trauma with "bruising to the jaw and leg. Hemorrhaging to the brain" and was left seriously ill. Thankfully, they came off the ventilator after one day and "has gone on to make a full recovery." Chambers continued, "Any child, but particularly a baby, is extremely vulnerable. As a result of your actions, the child was seriously injured. It is accepted by the prosecution that this was a momentary lapse in judgment."
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Connor admitted to cruelty to a child on September 18, 2018. His lawyer said his best mitigation was his young age at the time and his subsequent recent guilty plea, insisting that he was at low risk of re-offending in the future. Judge Chambers replied, "For all those reasons I am persuaded that it is sufficient to sentence you to a suspended order." Connor was subsequently sentenced to 10 months in jail suspended for two years, during which he must carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and up to 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days with probation. The judge warned the defendant that the sentence would be activated should he fail to comply, Express & Star reported.