REECE KEARNEY FROM MANCHESTER RECEIVES SUSPENDED SENTENCE FOR CHILD CRUELTY

Reece Kearney, aged 20 and residing on Newham Avenue in Manchester, appeared at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court on Tuesday, December 7th, 2021. He was convicted of cruelty to a child under 16 and received a nine-month sentence in a Youth Offenders Institute, which was suspended for 18 months.

The victim, a three-year-old boy who remains unnamed for legal reasons, suffered multiple non-accidental injuries over time. The injuries included:

- A thin vertical scratch about 0.5 cm long across the center of the forehead, caused by forceful contact with a sharp or hard surface, leading to bleeding.

- A brown bruise measuring roughly 0.5 cm by 1 cm on the inner side of the left upper arm, just above the elbow, likely caused by forceful pressure from a finger or thumb.

- A circular red/blue bruise approximately 1.5 cm in diameter on the right side of the forehead, extending patchily down the hairline, probably from a hand strike.

- Multiple small bruises and swelling on the right parietal area of the head, consistent with a flat-hand strike or a closed-fist “thump.”

- Bruising and petechiae on the inner fold of the right ear (scapha), caused by a flat-hand strike.

- A small linear scratch on the right cheek at the level of the right nostril, resulting from contact with a sharp or hard surface.

- A 0.5 cm diameter bruise on the right cheek, likely caused by a forceful pinch with fingers.

- A similar-sized bruise on the left cheek, also from grabbing or pinching.

- Multiple patches of bruising and petechiae above and in front of the left ear (helix and inner folds), caused by open-hand blows from multiple impacts.

- Multiple small bruises and swelling on the left parietal region above the ear, inflicted by a flat-hand strike or punch.

- A bruise on the inner rim (helix) of the left ear, caused by blunt trauma from an open-hand strike or punch.

- Scalp bruising with purple petechiae and purpura in the right parieto-occipital area, resulting from a strike or punch against a hard surface.

- A red/blue bruise on the left side of the forehead.

- A brown bruise measuring 1.5 to 2 cm under the right margin of the chin, caused by forceful impact of the head against a hard surface or by grabbing or poking.

- A 1 cm by 1 cm bruise on the center of the back over the spine, resulting from a forceful impact.

Along with his suspended custodial sentence, Kearney is required to complete 20 days of a Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and undertake 150 hours of unpaid work. If he commits another offence or breaches any conditions within 18 months, the nine-month sentence will be activated.

The sentencing remarks described the injuries as “deeply disturbing,” highlighting the pattern and varying stages of healing that indicated repeated assaults. The rehabilitation program aims to address Kearney’s violent tendencies, while the unpaid work is intended to serve as community reparation.