Man admits causing baby daughter's brain damage

A man who admitted putting his baby's life in danger by repeatedly shaking her has been given a community sentence.

The four-month-old girl suffered life-changing brain damage as a result of his "momentary loss of control".

The father, who is from Stirlingshire but cannot be named for legal reasons, shook the child, causing bleeding on her brain.

He was ordered to complete 210 hours of unpaid work.

The High Court in Livingston was told that there was no evidence to suggest there had been an historical pattern of abuse.

Bert Kerrigan KC, defending, described the case as "unique".

He said: "Within the one incident it's accepted there was repeated shaking, and that repeated shaking caused the tragic injuries which the child has suffered."

'Grave consequences'

The man previously admitted culpably and recklessly repeatedly shaking the child at his home in November 2018 to her severe injury, permanent impairment and danger of life .

The court heard he was part of a cohesive family unit and had the support of his wife and her mother, who both submitted letters to the court on his behalf.

In addition, a Children's Panel investigation concluded that he could continue to have unsupervised access to his child.

Passing sentence, Judge Lord Lake told the accused: "It's not clear why a child who was unresponsive would cause a parent to shake her leading to bleeding on the child's brain."

Lord Lake highlighted that the offence had not involved any apparent intent to assault the child or any element of planning beforehand.

He said: "This means that, although the consequences were grave, the culpability was significantly less.

"Also, your wife has no reservations about you being with your daughter."

He imposed the community payback order as a direct alternative to a prison sentence to mark the "grave consequences" of the accused's actions.