Man sentenced for assaulting infant
A father has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in jail for aggravated assault and failure to provide the necessities of life to his 24-day-old baby.
Supreme Court Justice James Chipman’s sentence came nearly five years after the incident happened on Nov. 4, 2011.
The father, who cannot be named because of a publication ban to protect the identity of the child, showed little emotion during the sentencing. He apologized to the child and the child’s mother for the injury he caused.
Tears flowed freely for the family and the mother’s voice cracked as she read her victim impact statement. She described coming home and noticing her son was not well. The father denied anything had happened and told the mother she was worrying too much.
When the baby started to show seizure activity she called for an ambulance. The baby was airlifted to the IWK in Halifax.
Doctors described the baby’s skull injuries as being akin to a crushed egg. He was put in a drug-induced coma. The mother was told her son would likely die.
He survived but his life was forever altered.
“My son cannot walk, cannot stand up by himself, the left side of his body is stiff and doctors are concerned he will develop scoliosis (an abnormal curvature of the spine) because he is not using his muscles,” she said.
“He will require a wheelchair. His vision is poor because of the retinal hemorrhages he suffered. He has hydrocephalus also known as fluid on the brain, which required a shunt to drain the fluid into his stomach.
“When I think back to when this first happened it’s hard to describe all the emotions I went through,” she added. “Initially I trusted (him). I couldn’t believe a father would hurt his own child.”
Despite a trial in July, it was never concluded exactly how the injuries occurred. The man has several differing explanations.
“I still don’t know what happened to him. Everything remains in turmoil,” the mother said, her voice was thick with emotion.
“He will never have the normal life of a typical child. He won’t be able to run and play like other kids,” she said.
“Everywhere I go I’m reminded of his limitations. He was born healthy and no longer is. His quality of life was priceless and it was stolen from him and he can never get it back.”
About the father, Justice Chipman said, “I find he snapped at the time in question. He acted out of emotional upset and inflicted excessive force on his innocent, completely defenseless, infant son. In my finding the injuries happened in a moment of time as a result of the force inflicted by his father.”
Aside from incarceration, the man received a lifetime firearms prohibition, the court imposed an order for a forensic DNA analysis and he was ordered not to communicate with the child or the child’s family. The court also ordered mental health counselling at the penitentiary and he was fined $600.
The Crown had asked the judge for a four-year prison sentence.