Father jailed over bid to kill baby

The 24-year-old left the baby, now seven months old, with severe and lasting brain damage by smashing his head against a bedroom wall or hitting him repeatedly on the head.

Sheffield Crown Court heard the man, who cannot be named to protect the child, did not want to bring up the baby because it was the result of an affair he started on the internet.

A jury was told the father met the child's 16-year-old mother through a website called Netlog, and had a "brief fling" with her after posing as a 17-year-old – leading to her pregnancy.

The court was told when he found out about the child he was concerned about the effect on his relationship with a long-term girlfriend and was unhappy about the costs of fatherhood.

During the trial, prosecutors said the 24-year-old, who is from the Doncaster area, went to visit the mother and child, and had planned to take any opportunity to kill him.

The visit took place at the mother's grandparents home, also in the Doncaster area, and when the father was alone with the baby he set about his task, leaving blood on the wallpaper.

Having denied attempted murder, he claimed in police interviews he had been "set up" by the girl and her family, adding they were abusing the child themselves.

He said he had been left alone with the baby for a few minutes while the mother went to fetch him a drink and noticed at that time that the child had blood on his nose and looked unwell.

It was claimed the mother may have been trying to shift the blame onto him for something she had done, but she denied under cross-examination that she had caused the injuries.

A jury of five women and seven men took just over two and a half hours to return a unanimous guilty verdict on the father yesterday, rejecting his claims he was not responsible.

Sentencing the father Mr Justice Teare said he did not accept that the 24-year-old had planned the attack and said he was sentencing him on the basis that it was "spontaneous".

But he added that there were several "aggravating features" in the case, and said: "The baby was your natural son and obviously quite defenceless. What you did to him was terrible.

"When you were alone with him for two minutes on January 6, you caused him to suffer very serious head injuries including a fractured skull.

"You either caused his head to strike a wall or struck his head with a hard object. You did this more than once.

"Only you know why you did this, there is nothing in your previous behaviour that would suggest you would commit such an act."

Earlier in the case, the jury heard Doncaster Council's children's services department had been involved with the teenage mother, who also cannot be named because of her age.

The court was told she had threatened to kill her younger siblings, and had been forced to move out of her mother's home after the relationships in the family became difficult.

Doncaster Council has been repeatedly criticised for failings in children's services but last night officers said they were not involved with the family at the time the baby was attacked.

Chris Pratt, Doncaster's director of children's services,

said: "Doncaster Council's children's services were involved historically with the family but not at the time of the injury.

"Following the incident the council has been working in partnership with the police and continues to support the family."