2013: QUARRY BANK MAN JAILED FOR TWO YEARS OVER BABY SHAKE INCIDENT
A QUARRY Bank man who lost his temper and shook a four-month old baby girl so hard she suffered a brain haemorrhange has been jailed for two years.Richard Ward, aged 23, maintained the incident had been an accident but the baby’s injuries were soon found to have resulted from her being shaken with excessive force - Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
Judge Mark Eades said the incident was a “grave offence” as emergency services found the child struggling to breathe when they arrived at her home.
He said Eades had given no explanation as to why he shook the child and said the only possible reason was that he had lost his temper.
He said Ward, who is not the father of the baby, initially said the infant had flopped forwards and banged her head on his shoulder bone.
But the judge said: “You have now acknowledged that is not true.
This is a serious episode of shaking that seriously injured this child.” Ward, of Farm Road, later admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on the basis that it had never been his intention to harm the child.
Simon Hanns, defending, described the incident in November 2010 as a "momentary loss of self control” and said Ward had lacked maturity at the time.
Blondelle Thompson, prosecuting, said the baby sustained two brain haemorraghes and a retinal haemorraghe but she was now recovering well and there had been no residual damage.
She said the baby had to be given oxygen by emergency crews and after being rushed to Russells Hall Hospital doctors quickly concluded her injuries were not accidental.
