Father admits ‘KARATE-CHOPPING’ his 12-week-old daughter as the baby girl is found to have a horrific array of injuries
- The girl suffered fractures to her right wrist, seven of her ribs and facial bruises
- These injuries came from seperate instances of abuse throughout August 2019
- The man claimed the girl’s injuries happened after she hit her own head on a wall
- Police planted a bug in their Wollongong home where he admitted to the abuse
A father has admitted to karate chopping his 12-week-old daughter as part of a sequence of horrific attacks on the baby girl.
The man left the girl with fractures to her right wrist, seven of her ribs and bruises on her face after numerous instances of physical abuse during August last year.
Police were initially told by the man, who can not be named due to legal reasons, the young girl’s injuries were self-inflicted as she had slammed her head against a wall.
The police planted a bug inside the home he shared with the girl’s mother in the Wollongong suburb of Warrawong, and heard him discuss the young girl’s injuries and admit he had ‘karate-chopped’ her and squeezed her ribs.
The man left the girl (both pictured) with fractures to her right wrist, seven of her ribs, bruises on her face after numerous instances of physical abuse which occurred throughout August 2019
On August 22, the man brought his daughter along while visiting the Illawarra Family and Community Services office to discuss housing issues, and caseworkers noticed bruises on the girl’s head and face, which were not present when they visited the week before.
Their daughter was removed from the couple’s care and after a medical examination of her injures, it was discovered she had seven fractured ribs.
Her injuries were in different stages of healing which indicated to the medical examiners the abuse had occurred over an extended period of time.
‘These rib fractures were caused by the offender deliberately applying significant force [to the child], well above that of the normal handling of an infant,’ the agreed facts read as reported by the Illawarra Mercury.
‘The force was either a direct impact to the ribs or the squeezing of the rib cage.’
Police were initially told by the man, who can not be named due to legal reasons, the young girl’s injuries were self-inflicted as she had slammed her head against a wall
The man was interviewed by police and claimed the young girl’s injuries were caused after she had thrown her head back and slammed it against a door frame.
The police brought him in the next day for a second interview and his explanation for the injuries changed.
This time, the man claimed the girl had hit her own head on a wall which caused the bruises.
The man’s inconsistent explanations led the police to plant a bug in the couple’s house where the true explanation for the girl’s injuries was revealed.
Police arrested the man on October 1 and he appeared via video link in Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday.
He pleaded guilty to several charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm and assault.
The man was also charged with the alleged physical abuse of the girl’s mother, but was yet to enter a plea.
He will appear at the Wollongong District Court for a sentencing date next week.