Baby left brain-damaged by father

Thomas South was admitted to hospital in February this year with injuries that included bleeding within his head from shaking, a recently fractured skull and 13 older bone fractures including nine broken ribs.

The five-month-old stopped breathing during treatment and, said Judge Paul Hoffman, had it not been for the skill of medical staff would have died.

Sentencing the baby's father, Christopher South, at Leeds Crown Court yesterday, he said it was one of the worst such cases he had dealt with in terms of the violence, the number of assaults and the "lifelong damage inflicted."

He accepted South was previously a hard working man of good character but it was a terrible case against a vulnerable babe in arms.

"He was your child, he deserved your support unconditionally. You subjected him to quite a number of shocking assaults each one of a nature most ordinary decent people would find unimaginable."

On previous occasions when he had broken no less than 13 bones in the baby's body he had not sought medical help nor when he inflicted an earlier head injury by shaking.

The judge said even when he caused the final severe shaking assault and trauma to the back of his head which turned out to be fractured, he had tried to persuade his partner not to take the child to hospital.

That failure to seek help was because he was frightened of the possible consequences for himself which a probation officer said showed he was "exceptionally self-centred".

Judge Hoffman said he agreed with the officer's conclusion that South posed a high risk of serious harm to children.

South, 22, of Ebor Terrace, Beeston, Leeds, admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent, causing the baby grievous bodily harm on an earlier occasion and child cruelty.

Tina Dempster, prosecuting, said Thomas was born prematurely on August 26 last year and in early 2010 was being cared for by both his parents in Wakefield.

On February 7 his mother Amy Kendall had left him with South while she was away for an hour having a driving lesson. When she returned she noticed bruising on the baby's face and chest.

Overnight Thomas was unsettled and miserable and the following morning she was so concerned she took him to her mother's who told her to take him to hospital.

They arrived at Pinderfields hospital about 10am but by then he was acutely unwell and the top of his head was bulging. He needed fluids and while being given that stopped breathing for several minutes.

He was anaesthetised, intubated, ventilated and transferred to the paediatric intensive care unit in Leeds. Doctors believed had he not been in their care when he stopped breathing he probably would not have survived.

Initially South denied any deliberate injuries but later admitted shaking the baby saying it had "just happened."

Richard Reed, for South, said his client was profoundly sorry for the serious and life changing damage to his son. He had two jobs at the time and was working from 7am to 11pm and was an exceptionally tired father unable to deal with the needs of a baby.