Dalby District Court: Mother covers up ex-boyfriend’s horrifying assault on children

A Dalby court has heard the woman blamed her four-year-old son for the burns on her younger daughter’s back and refused to take her children to hospital in an attempt to protect the former partner who inflicted the wounds.

A mother has walked free from the Dalby court after covering up her ex-boyfriend burning her young children with a “straight, hot” implement, refusing to take them to hospital to treat injuries they may now never fully recover from.

Dalby District Court was told the 21-year-old man was staying with his partner at the time and her family through June and July, 2020, during which the woman came home on an unknown date to find her two children, aged four and two, with burn marks and bruising on their bodies.

The children’s grandparents then arrived at the 29-year-old woman’s home several days later and soon noticed their four-year-old grandson was withdrawn and less excited to see them than usual.

Crown prosecutor Brendan White said the grandparents soon also saw burn marks on the boy’s foot causing him “visible pain” and a wound on his two-year-old sister’s back that was “cracked, red, and weeping into her shirt”.

When they confronted the children’s mother about their injuries, the woman claimed the boy had accidentally injured his sister with a stick he had taken from their fireplace.

The children were soon taken by their grandparents to obtain medical treatment in Brisbane, and the incident was reported to police.

The Dalby court heard the little girl had bruising on her side in addition to several burns on her back and the side of her right foot, which appeared to have been caused by a “straight, hot, sharp implement”.

Findings from medical examinations were also read to the court, suggesting the toddler would have suffered immediate and severe pain and was now left with scarring that may never heal completely.

Her brother also presented with burns to his foot and bruising on his face and legs.

Defence barrister Frank Martin said the mother was struggling with anxiety at the time, which prevented her from getting her children to a doctor or hospital, and that she no longer had contact with either of the victims.

The court was told the woman’s ex-boyfriend was on parole at the time of his attack on his then-partner’s children, and had spent 90 days in pre-sentence custody in the lead-up to the court proceedings.

Judge Nathan Jarro slammed the mother’s shocking neglect of her young children, telling the woman she had failed in her most fundamental duty as a parent.

“The role of a parent is to protect your child from harm, (and) you didn’t protect your daughter,” he said.

“You failed to act humanly to your own flesh and blood.”

Judge Jarro described the man’s inflicting pain and violence on innocent children as “atrocious behaviour”.

“I know nothing about whether you’re a father, but certain people should not have the privilege of parenting,” he said.

The man pleaded guilty to two counts of assault causing bodily harm. He was sentenced to two and a half years’ jail with immediate eligibility for parole.

The woman pleaded guilty to one count of failing to supply the necessaries of life, and was sentenced to 18 months’ jail with immediate release on parole.