SHANNON SOUTTER FROM BLAIRGOWRIE CAUGHT IN ANGUS CRIME SCANDAL INVOLVING BABY'S BRAIN DAMAGE

In September 2019, Shannon Soutter, a woman from Blairgowrie in Perthshire, was sentenced to a community order after a judge determined that incarceration was neither appropriate nor necessary for her case. This decision followed a harrowing incident involving a six-month-old baby girl who was left with severe brain injuries, along with fractures to her skull, ribs, and ankle, after being subjected to repeated assaults over a two-month period while in Soutter's care at a residence in Arbroath, Angus.

Authorities revealed that the young girl was brought to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee in late April 2018, suffering from critical brain trauma and multiple fractures. Her father, visibly distressed, accompanied her in the ambulance, while Soutter, who was also present, traveled in a separate vehicle with a woman. Despite the gravity of the situation, witnesses described Soutter as acting normally during the incident.

Medical professionals quickly concluded that the injuries were non-accidental, leading to her arrest by police. Soutter was subsequently detained and faced charges of assault causing severe injury, permanent impairment, and endangering the child's life. The child's prognosis was described as