Man jailed for failing to get medical help after toddler suffers 14 fractures, cigarette burns

A man has been jailed for two years for not seeking medical help for a toddler despite the child suffering 14 fractures, cigarette burns and bruises all over his body.

The 38-year-old, who cannot be named to protect the boy’s identity, is the partner of the child’s mother. He is not his biological father.

The man was charged with failing to protect a child after police alleged he knew about the boy’s injuries, but did nothing to alert authorities or seek medical help for him.

In August the boy’s mother pleaded guilty to two representative charges of assaulting a child, as well as ill-treatment and neglect of a child. She is currently on bail and awaiting her sentence, but was present in court on Tuesday for her partner’s sentencing.

READ MORE:
* Mother jailed for violence that left her baby daughter permanently brain damaged
* Auckland man jailed for hitting three-month-old baby, fracturing her ribs
* Stepdad lets baby suffer serious burns for two days

According to the summary of facts, the boy was about 18 months old around April 12 last year when he suffered “full thickness burns” to his finger, scalp and forehead that were consistent with cigarette burns.

At the time, the mother sent a text message to her partner saying they needed to get something from the chemist for the burns, proving she was aware of the child’s injuries.

On May 3, 2021, the toddler suffered significant burns to his cheeks, upper lip, nose, eyelids, eyes, neck and chest caused by an unknown hot liquid.

The mother again sent her partner a text message saying it was going to be “a rough night” for the toddler and that he was up crying every 10 minutes.

The following morning, the mother did not take the toddler to a doctor or hospital, but left him with her partner while she took her other children to McDonald’s. She only took the boy to a 24-hour medical centre that afternoon at 5.50pm.

The woman told medical staff her son woke that day with a rash on his face and chest, and said she noticed he was not able to bear any weight on his left leg. She said he fell off a coffee table the previous week but had been bearing weight since then, just not on that particular day.

Bruising and swelling was observed on the child’s lower left leg, and he could not open his eyes due to the burns on his face.

He was transported to Christchurch Hospital due to the severity of his injuries.

The mother told doctors the injuries appeared spontaneously. Bruises to the child’s back were from hand, foot and mouth disease, she claimed.

Although the circumstances around the toddler’s injuries are unknown, the treating paediatrician’s view was that many of the injuries were intentionally inflicted.

The toddler had 14 fractures including to the tibia and fibula (lower leg bones), feet, ribs, spine and pelvis.

X-rays suggested three of the fractures occurred within 10 days of the child being admitted to hospital, while five fractures showed signs of healing, meaning it was likely they occurred at least 10 days before.

The timing of the other six fractures was unclear.

The paediatrician said the child would have been in ongoing significant pain from the fractures.

The man’s defence lawyer, Anselm Williams, pointed out that his client had not caused the toddler’s injuries, but had simply failed to report them.

Williams said his client was entitled to a shorter sentence for his guilty plea and his unstable and abusive upbringing.

Judge Mark Callaghan sentenced the man to two years’ imprisonment, but because he had already spent 480 days in custody, he would be released immediately.

The judge ordered that release conditions should apply until six months after the expiry of the sentence, including that the man must complete any treatment and counselling as deemed appropriate by his probation officer, not consume any alcohol or drugs, and that he not have contact with the child’s mother without prior permission from a probation officer.