A couple have been jailed for eight years for inflicting 28 bone fractures on a four-month-old baby.
Adam Jendrzeczak, 32, and his partner Aleksandra Kopinska, 22 broke the knees, ankles, ribs, and arm of the baby boy at a flat in Brighton.
The pair compounded the abuse by attempting to hide the child’s injuries from doctors, leaving him ‘immense’ pain.
The severity of the injuries to the baby boy were shown in x-rays presented to the court
Doctors found 20 fractures to the baby’s ribs, including these itemised on a court x-ray
Bone fractures were also found on the four-month-old child’s knees
And they lied to doctors at the Royal Sussex County Hospital about the baby boy’s suffering and the causes of his horrific injuries.
At Hove Crown Court today Judge Christine Henson jailed the pair, castigating them for having shown ‘wicked cruelty towards a tiny baby’, The Argus reported.
Jendrzeczak has a previous conviction in 2011 for domestic violence, believed to be against his own mother.
And his relationship with Kopinska was described as ‘controlling’ and having ‘high levels of anger’.
The abuse came to light in February 2017 when the boy was taken to hospital with a broken arm.
Ryan Richter, prosecuting, explained: ‘It was then revealed he had further and extensive injuries, including 20 fractures to his ribs, fractures to both of his knees and both of his ankles.
‘Expert evidence showed the injuries were caused by significant force.’
Initially Jendrzeczak dismissed his barrister, insisting sentencing should await the arrival of his lawyer from Poland.
But when the judge refused, the thug pleaded to be represented by court-appointed Brian Shaw – only for Mr Shaw to explain Jendrzeczak had refused to talk to him before the hearing, so he could not act on his behalf.
The convicted abuser then argued he would be being ‘discriminated against’ for not having his own lawyer.
Judge Henson told him that he saw himself ‘as a victim’, adding that he had ‘complete disregard’ for the child and his injuries.
The judge added: ‘You have shown absolutely no remorse.
Doctors found bone fractures on the ribs all around the little child’s ribcage. Today his abusers each received an eight-year sentence
At Hove Crown Court today, Judge Henson told the evil pair: ‘The injuries you caused were truly appalling and showed wicked cruelty towards a tiny baby, almost beyond belief’
‘Those who had to deal with you, both neighbours and health professionals, found your demeanour to be aggressive and hostile.’
Kopinska, 22, from Hove, was described as ‘passive and subdued’, and did not engage with professionals when they asked if she had been the victim of domestic violence.
Mark Kessler, defending, said experts found that she looked ‘caring’ to health professionals but said she presented as ‘cowardly’.
The judge told her she had ‘continued to be unwilling to acknowledge the damage caused’ to the baby as a result of her behaviour.
Judge Henson concluded: ‘This was a gross abuse of trust. The baby had no abnormality or diseases which could have led to these injuries.
‘They were non-accidental, they were deliberately caused and required significant force to inflict. They would have caused immense pain.’
He went on: ‘That pain would have been obvious to both of you.
‘The injuries you caused were truly appalling and showed wicked cruelty towards a tiny baby, almost beyond belief.’
The pair were both jailed for eight years for assaulting or neglecting a child and causing unnecessary suffering, and for causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm.
Jendrzeczak was given an extended sentence, and must serve two thirds of his prison spell before he can be considered for parole.