Coast father leaves baby in vegetative state

Court has heard heartbreaking details of how a baby girl lives in daily pain after being shaken violently by her own father. Today he was sentenced for his crime.

The man was sentenced in the Southport District Court today.

A GOLD Coast father shook his four-month-old daughter so hard the child, now three, will never recover, has no quality of life and needs two full-time carers.

Yet he could be released from prison in less than two years.

Crown prosecutor Matthew Hynes detailed the heartbreaking day-to-day account of the young girl during her father’s sentencing in the Southport District Court today.

“It’s a state of living you would not wish on your worst enemy,” he said.

Mr Hynes said the girl was in constant pain, needed someone to suction her mouth because she could not swallow and cannot move or eat without help.

The girl’s father, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of grievous bodily harm.

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The father, who works in the mines, had lost the care of his other children from a previous marriage.

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Judge Julie Dick described the “vigorous shake” as an “extreme loss of control.”

She sentenced him to six years in prison with parole eligibility on March 7, 2021.

The girl’s father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, shook the girl while looking after her in 2016.

The court was told he then ran to the neighbours to seek help and told paramedics the baby had an allergic reaction.

The father’s story about what happened continued to change as he learnt more about her medical condition, the court was told.

Mr Hynes said medical evidence the baby had been shaken was “overwhelming”.

“I have no idea what happened in that house,” he said.

“We know the force used was far in excess for any reasonable human.”

The father’s barrister Chris Wilson said the shake happened because “he thought he was losing her and tried to keep her awake”.

“His perception was that he could have lost her … he had a real concern that she was unwell and tried to rouse her,” he said.

“It was excessive.”

Mr Wilson said the father, who works in the mines, had lost the care of his other children from a previous marriage.

He said he saw the girl in supervised visits three times a week when he was on the Gold Coast.

Mr Wilson said the father is a New Zealand citizen and risked being deported.

He said the father had a roster for two weeks at work and a week on the Gold Coast.