Thuggish Wakefield dad split baby son's skull in sickening attack after three-day cocaine binge

The Wakefield man, who cannot be named in order to protect the child’s identity, was jailed for 25 months this week for the sickening attack. He appeared at Leeds Crown Court where he admitted section 20 grievous bodily harm. He also pleaded guilty to actual bodily harm for a previous violent incident in which he attacked his heavily-pregnant girlfriend.

Prosecuting the case, Katherine Robinson said the man would often become abusive while in drink or after taking drugs. In October 2021 he became suspicious when his partner had been on the phone, accusing her of cheating on him. Despite her being pregnant with their baby, he punched her to the body and dragged her by her hair. She suffered bruising to her face, neck and ribs.

Miss Robinson said he apologised and told his partner that it would not happen again. But last year they became involved in a heated argument after the pair had both been on a three-day cocaine binge.

He threw bottles at her and then punched her twice, catching the head of the baby which the mother was holding at the time.

After a CT scan it was discovered the youngster had suffered a scalp hematoma, a 5mm-wide fracture running almost the full the length of his head. The youngster also suffered a contusional haemorrhage, swelling to the brain. He will need to be continually monitored by medical experts to the risk of a “growing fracture”, which could lead to complications with his skull as he grows.

The man was arrested but gave no comments during his interview. He continued to deny causing the injury to the tot.

The 21-year-old later changed his plea to guilty, but continues to deny hitting the baby on purpose and claims he did not know he was in his mother’s arms at the time. This basis of plea was accepted by the Crown Prosecution Service.

Mitigating, Gareth Henderson-Moore said: “He has no recollection of injuring the baby. He feels, in his words, distraught about what he has done. He is thoroughly ashamed. He wholeheartedly accepts responsibility for his actions.”

Speaking of the couple’s relationship Mr Henderson-Moore said: “They had a small child and found themselves with neither of them working or having a social life. Out of boredom they turned to drink and drugs to alleviate the boredom. That spiralled out of control quite quickly.” He said that the defendant accepted that drugs fuelled his aggression.

Judge Robin Mairs told the defendant: “You lost your temper for no justifiable reason. You threw bottles at your partner and punched her when she was holding your son, then just eight weeks old. It landed to the side of his head.

"I accept that you did not realise, through your drink and drug-addled state, that she was holding the child, but it’s scarcely mitigation that to say that you were trying to punch your partner and not your son.”

As well as the jail sentence, he was given a restraining order of indeterminate length.