Babysitter Luke Paul Szabo found not guilty of stuffing tissues down baby’s throat
A Canberra babysitter has walked free from court after being cleared of allegations he stuffed a wad of tissues down a baby’s throat.
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A babysitter who was accused of stuffing tissues down the throat of an 11-month-old child has walked free from court after being acquitted of all charges.
Luke Paul Szabo’s supporters cried tears of relief in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday as Justice Michael Elkaim found the Canberra chef not guilty of recklessly inflicting grievous bodily harm on the baby, and not guilty of choking the baby unconscious.
The prosecution case against Mr Szabo was that he was angry and irritated while babysitting five children, including the crying baby boy, and stuffed a tightly packed wad of tissues down in it’s throat.
When an ambulance crew arrived shortly after neighbours raised the alarm, Mr Szabo was performing “vigorous” CPR on the baby boy, who was breathing and had a pulse but who otherwise appeared to be dead.
One expert witness said it was “incredibly highly improbable that (the baby) inhaled or put tissues in his mouth to the extent that they became sodden and impacted” while another said it was “entirely possible” that he could have done so.
Justice Elkaim said there was “absolutely no evidence” of the baby screaming or crying “for a prolonged period of time” to the point that might have led Mr Szabo to become frustrated.
There was less than 25 minutes between when the baby’s mother left the house and when the ambulance was called.
Justice Elkaim also rejected the prosecution argument that there were no tissues near the baby when he choked.
“The tissues could have been left in the bed or the cot inadvertently,” Justice Elkaim said.
He also said the “state of the house” suggested housework was “not a regular priority” and described it as being “in disarray”.
“It is impossible to exclude as a reasonable possibility that tissues were within reach of (the baby),” he said.
