Jail for Derbyshire dad who violently shook baby son and tried to blame his daughter

The defendant, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, 'couldn't cope with the baby's crying' and returned him to his mother with bruises on his face and back, in November 2019.

He failed to tell his partner that he gripped the baby's face to stop him crying, grabbed him by the legs and 'shook him hard enough so his body left the bed more than once.'

Prosecutor Jonathan Dee said tests revealed the 'seriously unwell' baby sustained finger-point bruises and brain, retinal and spinal hemorrhages, which are 'the classic signs of a baby that has been shaken'.

The defendant later described that week as 'the best week he had had with his children', and told police the injuries were the result of 'rough play' between his son and daughter.

"None of these injuries could have been caused by an 18-month old girl," said Mr Dee. "Suspicion was initially cast on the mother and she was investigated for various offences."

Both children were taken into care for 19 months, Nottingham Crown Court heard on Monday.

In a statement, the baby's mother said 'all she wanted to do was give her children a cuddle and tell them it would be all right - but she was prevented from doing this.'

She said: "I worry about (her son’s) future because we don't know what effect this will have on him."

Andrew Wesley, mitigating, said: "This is a parent who loses it for a matter of moments with very serious consequences."

He said much of the delay was beyond the defendant's control while counsel negotiated 'behind the scenes'.

He said it was likely the defendant, who had been hospitalised some months earlier after self-harming, was mentally fragile and 'ill-equipped emotionally to deal with difficult situations.'

"Once he plucked up the courage to say he caused those injuries he has been properly able to express his regret and the sorrow he feels," Mr Wesley added.

Judge Julie Warburton told the defendant, who eventually pleaded guilty to causing serious harm in March, that he caused ‘serious and potentially life-changing injuries.’

She sentenced him to four years in prison.