DORSET MAN JAILED FOR SICKENING ASSAULT ON 3-YEAR-OLD BOY
A sick man who slapped a three-year-old boy as hard as humanly possible and smeared his body in peanut butter before getting his dog to lick it off in the name of “banter” has been jailed.Vile Michael Leeson had been left alone with the youngster while his mother was away from the home they lived in when he launched his vicious attack upon the defenceless boy in 2018, Sheffield Crown Court heard.
When the boy’s mother noticed a mark to the boy’s face and ear, Leeson said that her children would be taken away from her by social services if the injuries were reported.
Leeson also took steps to prevent the young boy from attending his nursery as those working there would almost certainly have noticed the injuries.
The 35-year-old’s efforts failed when a nursery worker did eventually see the marks and the boy was examined by medical experts at hospital.
One doctor came to the conclusion that he had been subjected to a “severe beating” and that he had been struck across the face with an open hand with as much force as Leeson could manage.
The judge sentencing Leeson over the appalling violence said there could be no reason for hitting a defenceless child during acts he labelled as “cruel and callous”.
The Recorder Nicholas Lumley added that the bout of violence could only have been out of extreme jealousy.
Leeson had been due to stand trial on a charge of assaulting or ill-treating a child, but admitted the same offence on a basis.
Despite his guilty plea, he continued to deny the offence and the court heard he had previously blamed another child for the injury the young boy sustained at his hand.
Prosecutor Ian Goldsack also revealed that Leeson had smeared peanut butter over the boy’s chest and encouraged his whippet to lick it off him.
He suffered scratches from the dog during what Recorder Lumley described as a “degrading” incident.
Leeson was also said to have taken drugs in front of other children in the same house.
In a pre-sentence report, Leeson continued to deny the horrific slap he had carried out telling a probation officer he must have marked the youngster by accident but that he didn't remember.
Leeson, of Jellicoe Close, Dorset, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison.
