Mum's shock as dad who hit toddler avoids jail

Luckycharms_74

Was the judge right or wrong ?




http://www.independent.ie/national-news/courts/mums-shock-as-dad-who-hit-toddler-avoids-jail-3312345.html

THE estranged wife of a man who was convicted of punching his two-year-old son in the face after drinking says the judge who sentenced the father to probation was too lenient.

The mother of three from Co Waterford, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was appalled by a justice system that let her estranged husband walk free after he pleaded guilty to assaulting their then two-year-old son. He was requested to post a bail bond of €100 and to keep the peace for 12 months.

"It was a circus – a farce," said Rachel, not her real name. "I don't think he understood the severity of it," she said."

Waterford District Court Judge Rory MacCabe sentenced the 37-year-old man to probation last week after the court heard he had "snapped" while minding the couple's three children on April 12, 2011.

The man had been drinking during the day and was annoyed by the children misbehaving before he lashed out at the little boy.

He initially texted his wife, telling her that the child had fallen and injured himself, before putting him to bed.

Autism

However, the following day, Rachel noticed a fist mark on the side of her son's face and his ear was black inside and out.

The boy suffered permanent damage to the cartilage in his ear, which a doctor said was typically found in injuries suffered by adult rugby players.

He is also undergoing tests for his hearing as well as for autism. He has exhibited aggressive behaviour and bangs his head against the floor and doors, the court heard.

Insp Paul Heffernan told the court the assault was unnecessary and cowardly. Despite his testimony and the boy's injuries, Mr Justice MacCabe said it appeared that the man had suffered "a momentary lapse of control" and noted he has taken steps to deal with his drinking and anger.

A probation report found the man poses a low risk of re-offending. However, speaking after the ruling, Rachel said her estranged husband should be locked away to protect her and their children.

In a victim impact statement that she was not permitted to submit to the court, she said her son "has been through an absolutely appalling ordeal at the hands of the man he is meant to call Daddy".

She wrote: "To see a little two-year-old boy, still a baby, looking like he did, all bruised and hurt, and to know in your heart that his own father had inflicted such injuries on him was such a heartbreaking moment," she said.

charlietheminxx

That's absolutely disgusting I'm losing all faith in our "justice" system. My heart goes out to that woman and her children.

Death and Taxes

charlietheminxx wrote: »

That's absolutely disgusting I'm losing all faith in our "justice" system. My heart goes out to that woman and her children.

Certainly the action of a coward and a bully!
Judge seems to have based his sentence on the low risk of reoffending but I would have thought that some mandatory attendance at anger management and a large dose of community service would have been the minimum that would have been given.

corktina

it's a fine line that I'd say most parents have come close to crossing but held back. I'd say the Judge would be right that there is a low risk of re-offending. He has all the facts, we have almost none.

Spiritual

Why is the word "Autism" just hanging there in the middle of the article?

Lollers

Spiritual wrote: »

Why is the word "Autism" just hanging there in the middle of the article?

Indeed what has that got to do with anything

Spiritual

Lollers wrote: »

Indeed what has that got to do with anything

It's a place holder for sh!t reporting and wasn't used as a defence so why mention it?
I might be over thinking it.

pickarooney

He is also undergoing tests for his hearing as well as for autism

It's at the end of this sentence.

steddyeddy

I didnt think Autisim can be instigated by head trauma but I can see why it's in the article. Head trauma can indeed result in personality changes though.

Onesimus

You can actually kill a 2 year old with an adult blow like that. He should have been done with attempted murder.

Spiritual

pickarooney wrote: »

It's at the end of this sentence.

I see that but what is the relevance, is it to implant the suggestion that the child is a particularly difficult one to deal with. The child is undergoing tests not diagnosed.

No matter you don't punch a kid, just wondering why it's in the article.

Edit: After reading the article again I am confused as to whether the tests for autism were a result of the blow or mentioned for some other reason?

Odysseus

Onesimus wrote: »

You can actually kill a 2 year old with an adult blow like that. He should have been done with attempted murder.

I doubt intent to murder was present, without that there can be no murder or attempted charge.

xxmeabhxx

So what if there's a low chance of him re-offending? The court should be concerned with the crime he has already committed and not what he may or may not do in the future, he assaulted his two year old son and should be punished for that without any regard for what might happen in the future because that's not going to change the past and what has already happened. If his momentary lapse of control was down to his anger and not any kind of mental issue then it's still entirely his fault and that shouldn't be used as a mitigating circumstance. At the very least he needs anger management classes.

Ray Palmer

Onesimus wrote: »

You can actually kill a 2 year old with an adult blow like that. He should have been done with attempted murder.

Attempted murder means he intended to kill but failed. He didn't plan to kill the child and if he had it would be manslaughter.
If somebody is unlikely to reoffend there really is not great benefit to prison terms.
If a woman did the same thing less people would call for jail.

KKkitty

How you could do that to a defenceless child is beyond me?? Hope he gets more punishment for this and never sees his kids again.

Kristopherus

Why did she leave the children with him if he had drink taken? Surely she would have noticed that he had.

Spiritual

Ray Palmer wrote: »

Attempted murder means he intended to kill but failed. He didn't plan to kill the child and if he had it would be manslaughter.
If somebody is unlikely to reoffend there really is not great benefit to prison terms.
If a woman did the same thing less people would call for jail.

Shouldn't attempted murder be treated the same as murder. The fact you have failed doesn't change the fact you tried.

*Not that I believe it was in this case.

Frank Black

Despite having no knowledge of the case, other than a reading a couple of paragraphs from the Independent, I'm pretty sure that guy should be locked up for life and have his hand chopped off with an axe, and then be punched in the head with that hand for all eternity.

jasonmcco

Onesimus wrote: »

You can actually kill a 2 year old with an adult blow like that. He should have been done with attempted murder.

No we should have made the 2 year old child execute him with a rusty knife.

oh yeah and using quote like "adult blow" was what enlightened me to your advanced level of thinking in the area of justice

Tombo2001

corktina wrote: »

it's a fine line that I'd say most parents have come close to crossing but held back.

Punching a two year old in the face is not a fine line......its a very wide line and you would already have to be 99% of the way to being a complete boll&x to cross it.

Most parents come nowhere near this.

The man should go to jail.

More generally, I dont know why society thinks it can treat children differently to how it treats adults.

If someone punched me in the face unprovoked, I would expect an assault charge to be brought against that person and for them to serve a token sentence at least. Why should it be any different for a defenseless two year old.

laoch na mona

Luckycharms_74 wrote: »

bangs his head against the floor and doors

i saw to kids in Belfast hitting their heads of a sign and loving it

Luckycharms_74 wrote: »

He has exhibited aggressive behaviour

as do all children who know it will get them what they want

Im not saying what he did was ok because it clearly wasn't Im just pointing out that the suggestions made in court are farcical

still he should be punished not just let off

Odysseus

xxmeabhxx wrote: »

So what if there's a low chance of him re-offending? The court should be concerned with the crime he has already committed and not what he may or may not do in the future, he assaulted his two year old son and should be punished for that without any regard for what might happen in the future because that's not going to change the past and what has already happened. If his momentary lapse of control was down to his anger and not any kind of mental issue then it's still entirely his fault and that shouldn't be used as a mitigating circumstance. At the very least he needs anger management classes.

We can't have it both ways, look at the way people go on about sex offenders and how there is a high chance of them re-offending. It is always taken into consideration when deciding on a judgement.

Maybe he is already attending such classes, they article implies that he has undertaken some work on his issues.

tritium

As another poster pointed out, the judge in this case has far more of the facts than any if us! I would note that it's not uncommon to see comparable behaviour from many mums (in particular) and dads in any main street in Ireland and no-one here seems particularly outraged.

I'd also note that given the parents are estranged, there is likely to be more going on under the surface that is detailed in a (slightly sensational) newspaper report.

IvySlayer

He was requested to post a bail bond of €100 and to keep the peace for 12 months.

What does 'keep the peace' mean Aren't you supposed to do that anyway?

gallag

We don't have all the facts, kid could have had ginger hair!

Irish Guitarist

I think they mentioned autism because autistic children are supposedly more difficult to take care of than children without autism. I have a nephew who has autism and is usually very well behaved, apart from a very occasional tantrum. Even then it's not as bad as I see a lot of children having in shops all the time.

The judge may well have known absolutely nothing about the condition and taken it into account when sentencing the man.

Anyway, the man should definitely have gotten a harsher sentence. I don't care how drunk he was, there's no excuse for that type of abuse. The child has a hard enough life ahead of him as it is without his scumbag of a father permanently damaging his hearing.

Tombo2001

tritium wrote: »

As another poster pointed out, the judge in this case has far more of the facts than any if us! I would note that it's not uncommon to see comparable behaviour from many mums (in particular) and dads in any main street in Ireland and no-one here seems particularly outraged.
.

Thats nonsense. I've never seen a parent punch a child in the head in public.......

Jezek

Alcohol Detox and Anger Management/Therapy should have been mandatory, and could have helped everyone out a lot more than life in jail or whatever else After Hours fantasizes about

laoch na mona

Onesimus wrote: »

You can actually kill a 2 year old with an adult blow like that. He should have been done with attempted murder.

you can kill an adult with one punch aswel

Tombo2001

Jezek wrote: »

Alcohol Detox and Anger Management/Therapy

Hardly a deterrent is it?

Yeah he punch his kid so they sent him to AA classes......

lukesmom

We don't know the full circumstances, the child might have asked for it, you know how toddlers can be. And as another poster quite rightly said the child may in fact have been a ginger so let's leave the hounding until we know the full story