Cairns District Court jury finds man not guilty of grievous bodily harm in baby shaking trial

A Cairns District Court jury deliberated for about four hours before returning a verdict for a man charged with grievous bodily harm of his son, who has lifelong impairments.

A Cairns toddler has devastating and lifelong physical and cognitive impairments from an injury sustained when he was four months old.

A Cairns toddler has devastating and lifelong physical and cognitive impairments from an injury sustained when he was four months old.

He is 18 months old now - and nobody has been held responsible for the injuries medical experts testified were caused by violent shaking.

The child’s father was charged with grievous bodily harm of the infant on September 20, 2022, and pleaded not guilty at the start of the trial before Judge Tracy Fantin in Cairns District Court trial on February 26.

The jury delivered a not guilty verdict on Monday afternoon after a six-day trial.

Detective Senior Constable Damon Smalley, of the Cairns Child Protection Investigation Unit, gave evidence and was present as an observer, with a colleague, when the verdict was delivered.

The court heard that a group of people including the child’s parents were drinking at a Woree unit, and several, including the boy’s father, went out to a party, leaving the mother, the infant, his older sibling and an 11-year-old girl in the unit overnight.

Cairns District Court heard the child was having seizures as he was admitted to hospital. Picture: Brendan Radke

The group returned after sunrise and the man told police he slept until midday, when the women left to take a TV to Cash Converters, and he had sole care of the child and his sibling during this time, which is when the crown alleged the injury occurred.

Crown Prosecutor Aaron Dunkerton produced witnesses including the neurosurgeon who performed a craniotomy on the child at Brisbane Children’s Hospital, a forensic paediatrician and the paediatrician who currently oversees the boy.

All gave evidence it was not possible that the injury was caused by a fall or accidental drop and that the extensive bleeding was consistent with the baby having been violently shaken.

Defence barrister Kelly Goodwin said the crown’s case was circumstantial and it was possible that someone else injured the child earlier in the day.

Brisbane Children’s Hospital neurosurgeon Dr James Lee told the court the child had a subdural haematoma pressing against brain tissue, with the brain becoming distorted and no longer able to sustain itself with oxygen and nutrients. Picture: File photo

The court heard the boy’s mother became concerned, an ambulance was called at 5pm, and the child was urgently transferred from Cairns to Townsville and then Brisbane.

Brisbane Children’s Hospital neurosurgeon Dr James Lee told the court without surgery, the boy would have died.

Townsville neurosurgeon Dr David Anderson said the boy had an extremely grave prognosis.

Dr Deanna True, a forensic pathologist, gave evidence if the injury had occurred earlier, the child would not have survived, and symptoms would have been immediate.

Opthamologist Dr Alfred Talbot said severe bleeding in the boy’s eyes was consistent with having been shaken.

Cairns Hospital consulting paediatrician Dr Lesley Everard said the boy now suffered seizures, for which he was receiving medication

“I have concerns he has vision impairment, but he is too young to adequately assess in greater detail, he has some hearing impairment, his speech development is poor, he doesn’t have any real speech,” Dr Everard told the court.

Opthamologist Dr Alfred Williams said there was significant bleeding in both eyes, indicative of significant force on an unrestrained head “along the lines of a whiplash injury as may occur when a baby is shaken”. Picture: File photo

“He has limited use of his right arm and right leg, needs support to sit, and has not yet started to crawl,” he said.

“The best analogy is that it’s like a stroke in an older person, he has significant damage to the left side of his brain, so decreased movement on the right side, also facial – his smile is asymetrical.”

Dr Everard said the boy’s disabilities were “absolutely” caused by his injury.

Mr Goodwin asked Ms True if she could absolutely exclude that the injuries hadn’t occurred earlier in the day and she said she could not, but she said it was unlikely.

He said the child’s injuries could have been caused by his mother that evening or the following morning.

Mr Dunkerton maintained the medical evidence showed something happened to the child when he was left alone with his father, he did not have injuries when the women left the unit and he was observed to be “shaking” and “twitching” after they returned.

Originally published as Cairns District Court jury finds man not guilty of grievous bodily harm in baby shaking trial