Lots of tears, handwringing, and excuses for UNNAMED DAD. For the baby who suffered two skull fractures in Daddy's attack? Not so much. Notice there are questions here about why this ar$ehole was allowed unsupervised access, but really no answer. That's because the real answer is: fathers rights.
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/western-australia/bunbury-teenage-dad-sentenced-over-baby-bashing-death/story-fnhocxo3-1227274532053
Bunbury teenage dad sentenced over baby bashing death
Kaitlyn Offer
PerthNow
March 23, 2015 9:17AM
The teenage father of a baby boy who died in Princess Margaret Hospital in February last year will be sentenced today.
THE 16-year-old father of an infant bashed to death in a WA hospital has been sentenced to 10 years’ jail for his heinous crime.
The teenager, who inflicted “the most severe head and brain injuries” a doctor has seen on his infant son, did so out of jealousy, a court has been told.
A short time ago, the teenager was sentenced in the Perth Children’s Court to 10 years in prison,
back dated to February 16 2014 and may be eligible for a supervised release order after serving five years.
Family and friends of the youth cried as the sentence was handed down and his mother spoke outside of court, saying he had been in the care of the Department for Child Protection since 12 years of age and it was responsible for “neglecting’’.
The prisoner’s mother also questioned the protocol of Bunbury Regional Hospital, where her grandson was bashed, and why her son was allowed to be “left alone with a premature baby’’.
Earlier, as the teen sat in the dock, wearing a crisp, new white shirt and his head buried in his hands, he wiped away tears while the court was told how the boy had a troubled upbringing and developed an “insular and intense” relationship with his partner.
It was submitted he had applied such blunt force to the 25-day-old baby boy that the infant had two separate fractures to his skull.
Judge Denis Reynolds said one doctor described the injuries as “the most severe head and brain injuries she has seen on an infant.”
The baby was injured while in Bunbury Regional Hospital and died a few days later in Princess Margaret Hospital in his mother’s arms.
At the time of the baby’s death the teenage mother took to social media, telling how her baby died in her arms.
“Omg what do I do sitinq here so lost missing my son rip mummys boy love you to the moon nd bak,” she wrote.
“You Went In My Arms I Lovee Yhu So Much.”
Prosecutor Matthew Walton said the then 15-year-old’s actions had “cast a pool of darkness over the birth of a child”.
Prosecutor Matthew Walton told the District Court that psychological and psychiatric reports suggested it was possible the teenaged father had become jealous because “the baby was a rival for the love and attention” of his partner.
“It’s hard to think of a stronger bond than that of a parent and child,” Mr Walton said.
“That has been shattered and the unthinkable has become a reality.
“This was not an accident, it was the result of a deliberate act.”
Mr Walton said the attack on the child, in Room 224 of Bunbury Regional Hospital on February 15 2014, came without warning.
However he said psychological and psychiatric reports suggested it was possible the teenaged father had become jealous because “the baby was a rival for the love and attention” of his partner.
The boy’s counsel Jim Sutherland said his client was a victim of “chaos” while growing up.
He was in care between the ages of six and 10, his father died in 2008 and he was surrounded by drugs, violence and frequent family deaths.
Mr Walton said those mitigating circumstances did not balance out the teenager’s “selfish” actions.
“This was the killing of a human being at the most tender age,” Mr Walton said.
“The child was entirely at the mercy (of the father).”
Mr Walton said he case was “unique and unusual” in the WA Children’s Court with no record of a juvenile killing their child before this one.
Judge Reynolds said it was surprising that the teenager had unsupervised access to the baby given his dysfunctional upbringing.
He said the teenager had demonstrated some remorse by pleading guilty to manslaughter, but added that his level of remorse was minimal based on his interview with police and the fact that he had not given an account of what he did to the infant.
“You were really only concerned for yourself and the predicament you were in,” he said.