'Violent' Father Sexually Assaulted Newborn 12-Day-Old Baby Boy, Left Infant With Horrific Injuries

A father in Belfast, Northern Ireland has been slapped with a 24-year prison sentence on Friday, Dec. 10, for subjecting his newborn 12-day-old son to sexual abuse in a gruesome and disturbing case.

A sentence of 19 years in prison, as well as an extra five years of supervised release where he is to stick to specific rules in order to not be imprisoned again, was given to the father by presiding Judge Stephen Fowler to protect the public as well as punish the abusive dad, according to the Belfast Telegraph.

“The victim was a helpless, small, vulnerable 12-day-old baby when these [offenses] were perpetrated on him,” Judge Fowler said. “He depended on his father to keep him safe, to love him, to protect him from harm, in a home where he would thrive and reach his full potential.”

The 12-day-old baby was reportedly put to rest by his own father the night before the incident. When his partner checked in on the baby the following morning, however, the son was pale and blue around the lips, and the father stated that he did not believe that the child was breathing properly.

Sent to the Royal Victoria Hospital For Sick Children, the infant spent two weeks in intensive care, almost dying of a heart attack before being revived by the doctors giving him care. His injuries were described to be like “a high-speed road traffic accident or a severe serious assault.”

The father, who was not named in order to protect the son and his family, admitted on Sept. 3 to sexually assaulting the baby with the intention to harm the child. However, he has not disclosed why or how he did it after putting in the guilty plea, the New York Daily News reported.

“Yet it was his own father who physically and sexually abused him in a most outrageous breach of trust,” Fowler said regarding the case. “He almost died, but for the care he received in hospital, and it will be many years before the full extent of the impact of his injuries will manifest.”

Judge Fowler noted the lack of empathy or remorse from the father. This spurred the judge to call him out for his callousness.

“Both he and his mother will have to re-live the trauma of these events when he comes of an age to be told why his father is not part of his life,” he said during the sentencing.