Mum of shaken baby relieved after father jailed five years later
- Published
Natasha says there's no amount of time Nicholas Bateman can do in prison that will be enough
A mother whose baby was shaken by his father so violently he suffered brain damage has spoken of her relief that he has finally been jailed.
Natasha, 27, was out of the family home in March 2018 when Nicholas Bateman, 31, assaulted their son.
The next day, the seven-week-old boy began having seizures and would go on to develop cerebral palsy.
More than five years later, Bateman was finally jailed last week for causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
"I always hoped and wished that justice would be served. It went on one year, two years, now we've hit the five-year mark," said Natasha, whose surname is not being reported in order to protect her son's identity.
"I started to think 'is he going to get away with it? Is he going to walk free?'"
On 9 March 2018, while Natasha popped to a doctors appointment, Bateman phoned her to say their son had bumped his lip on his shoulder.
But when she returned home her son was lying limp on the sofa.
After a call to emergency services Natasha was told to administer CPR before the boy was taken into hospital.
The following day he began suffering from seizures and Natasha was told to prepare for the worst as he was put into an induced coma.
After medical examinations, doctors found the baby had multiple fractures including a bleed on his brain.
The injuries caused multiple seizures resulting in brain damage and later a diagnosis of cerebral palsy.
Still, Bateman's only explanation was that his son had banged his lip.
Under suspicion
On the baby boy's final day in hospital, to her shock, both Natasha and Bateman were arrested.
As she had been the person to call emergency services for help and Bateman was keeping to his story, police placed her as being at the property at the time of the incident.
But Natasha said their arrests was the moment she knew her son had been intentionally hurt.
"(My son) came back with multiple fractures and it was indicating shaken baby syndrome. I knew I didn't do it and the only other person that could have done it was Nicholas.
"In hospital he just seemed like a sad father that wanted his child to get better. But knowing he put him in that situation, he hasn't shown any remorse."
Natasha said no sentence would be enough for her ex partner's assault on her son
It wasn't just authorities who had suspicions about her role in the baby's injuries. The police and ambulance workers who attended the aftermath of the incident had inevitably caught the attention of neighbours.
"People judged, people were staring thinking 'did she do it, will it come out?'," she said.
"They'd judge me and I was like, I didn't need to give them an explanation. The people that knew I didn't do it, thankfully, like my family and friends, knew I couldn't do something like that."
Natasha's son was made the subject of family court proceedings, and had to live with his grandparents while authorities worked out who was responsible for his injuries.
Natasha, said: "Still he (Bateman) didn't admit to nothing at all. He even tried telling people that I was lying about my son being disabled."
Nicholas Bateman was jailed for more than 10 years for assaulting his son
But after eight months of proceedings, Bateman was charged by police with causing grievous bodily harm with intent. No further action was taken against Natasha.
There were years of criminal court delays, in part due to the start of the coronavirus pandemic and Bateman's denials that he had harmed his son.
After many court appearances, and just over five years on the from the assault, Bateman eventually pleaded guilty at Cardiff Crown Court on 21 March.
He was sentenced to 10 years and nine months in jail at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on 4 May.
Judge Lucy Crowther told the sentencing hearing that Bateman had likely first gripped the little boy around his face and chest before "violently" shaking him and throwing him onto a soft surface.
"You shook him when he wouldn't stop crying. You were just too frightened to say what you had done," the judge said.
'I hope he'll be hurting'
Natasha said despite her relief that justice has finally been served, she feels there is "no amount of time" that Bateman can serve "that will be enough for what he's done".
"To hear him say (he is guilty) is something we've all wanted to hear. But then to hear him say it five years later is too late. He hasn't had to see what he has done. He's lived a normal life. He's carried on with his life".
She said her son cannot talk, walk or stand without assistance. He struggles to eat a normal diet and survives mainly on yoghurts. He also cannot sleep without medication and doesn't have much of a pain threshold.
"I always look at him and I think 'why?' He was only seven weeks old," said Natasha, from Rhondda Cynon Taf in south Wales.
"I don't know what his future will be. We'll always show him love, he will always be happy. But there will be ways where he will suffer.
"I don't know if he will be able to go out on his own, or have a family. He's had that taken away from him.
"I don't want to say it, but I think he will be his mum's boy for the rest of his life and I'll take care of him for the rest of his life."
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- Published4 May 2023
