Upper Coomera father convicted of common assault of six-month-old daughter

A Gold Coast father who was convicted of assaulting his six-month-old daughter while her mother listened on has walked free from court.

An Upper Coomera father went from stroking his six-month-old daughter’s forehead to pushing her face into a mattress as the infant’s horrified mother watched from a baby monitor, a court was told.

The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, 31, pleaded guilty to common assault in the Southport Magistrates Court on Monday after the incident in March this year.

The father leaving Southport Magistrates Court.

The father had been in his daughter’s bedroom about 3am trying to settle her by patting her back, giving her a dummy and stroking her forehead.

When the baby did not settle, the father placed his hands around her chest and pushed the six-month-old into her cot mattress, the court was told.

After she started to cry, he placed both hands over the baby’s face then pushed her head forcibly into the mattress.

Hospital tests later confirmed the baby was not injured.

The baby’s mother, who was the father’s partner, confronted him over the incident and reported it to police on March 18.

She also provided a victim impact statement.

The father admitted the assault to police, citing “ongoing relationship stresses with his partner and limited sleep in the days leading up to the incident”.

The Upper Coomera man’s lawyer Ali Rana said his client was suffering from mental health issues at the time and had sought treatment before and after the incident.

“On my instruction, he’s done everything he can to ensure this never happens again,” Mr Rana said.

“He’s someone who needs rehabilitation and wants rehabilitation, frankly.”

Footage from the baby monitor of the incident was tendered as evidence, but was not played in open court.

Magistrate Dzenita Balic said after watching the footage, it appeared the baby’s cries had “sparked some level of frustration” for the father.

“She needed you to take care of her and you didn’t on this particular occasion,” Magistrate Balic said.

“You used your body in a very forceful way towards her tiny little body and pressed up against her face.”

She took into account the father’s lack of criminal history, his early guilty plea and the mother’s victim impact statement in handing down her sentence.

The father was placed on a nine-month probation order.

A conviction was recorded.

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