Baby M’s father sentenced to 15 years

‘Difficult to imagine a more appalling case,’ prosecutor says

The Edmonton father of twin girls so horribly abused, deprived and starved that one died and another barely survived was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years in prison.

The 36-year-old father, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his children, pleaded guilty in April to manslaughter, aggravated assault and failing to provide the necessities of life. His two-year-old daughters suffered for months before he finally called paramedics after one stopped breathing in May 2012.

‘This is a crime of inhumanity against small children.” JUSTICE SHEILA GRECKOL

One of the girls, known as S, made a miraculous recovery. Her sister, known in medical records as Baby M, was removed from life support after doctors concluded that recovery was impossible.

In the prisoner’s box, the father remained expressionless as his daughter’s injuries were read in detail by Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Sheila Greckol.

“This is a crime of inhumanity against small children,” the judge told court. “Few offences are as grave as causing mortal injuries to children.”

Greckol noted that the Algerian immigrant has lost his family, his job and prospects of a fresh start in Canada. All of that, she noted, was his own fault.

“This was by his own hand and he must pay a steep price.”

During a sentencing hearing June 5, prosecutors called the father’s crimes torture.

“It is difficult to imagine a more appalling case of manslaughter to be visited upon a helpless child,” Crown prosecutor Megan Rosborough told court. “M died a long, excruciating death and was tortured repeatedly in the time leading up to her death. S’s life with her parents was equally shocking and tortured.”

Defence lawyer Peter Royal said a two-decade sentence would be “grossly excessive” and argued his client should serve 10 to 12 years.

Greckol sentenced the father in the absence of a full explanation for the abuses. No psychological assessment was submitted to court and no mental issues were raised.

After credit for time already served, the father has 12 years left on his sentence.

In the early morning of May 25, 2012, the father called 911 after his daughter stopped breathing in the family home while he was at work, according to an agreed statement of facts.

Inside the home, paramedics found the twins strapped into car seats. M, ashen and emaciated, was not breathing and had no pulse. Her sister, S, was also little more than skin and bones.

“They should have been able to rely on their father to protect, nurture, feed and love them,” Crown prosecutor Shelley Bykewich told court. “This was a breach of trust of nearly unfathomable dimensions.”

The twins’ four-year-old brother was in fine health. He jumped on the sofa as medics tried to save his sisters.

The home was well stocked with food. The son had numerous toys and slept in a clean bedroom with his parents. The girls’ room had no toys, few clothes and a filthy mattress on the floor that reeked of urine.

“S will eventually have to deal with the knowledge that her parents cared for and fed her brother and let her and her sister starve,” Bykewich said.

The father agreed to an application by prosecutors that he have no contact with his surviving daughter. However, he objected to that same order being applied to his son. Greckol ordered he have no contact with either of the children.

M’s injuries were devastating. Her 13-pound body was covered with scabs and bruises. M also had blunt force cranial trauma that was not accidental, doctors found. After a short, fierce legal battle, M’s parents lost control of her medical care and the courts ordered she be removed from her respirator in September 2012.

Her sister S was three pounds heavier, but still covered in bruises and too weak to move her legs or arms. She was released from hospital three weeks after paramedics were called. She and her brother have now been adopted.

“I did not want to hurt or harm my kids, but it was a very big mistake,” the father wrote in a letter read to court. “I will live heartbroken for the rest of my life. We love our kids.”

The father also wrote that he believed M had forgiven him, “because she was a perfect daughter and had a kind heart.”

The father will be deported from Canada once released from prison. Greckol denied a Crown application that he not be eligible for parole until he’s served half his sentence.

The mother of the twins was also charged. Her case has not reached trial.

The Algerian couple married in March 2007 and moved to Canada a year later.