The parents of a newborn baby who had both legs amputated after he suffered eight fractures to his limbs and was left seconds from death with sepsis have been jailed for a total of 20 years.
Tony Smith, 47, and 24-year-old Jody Simpson were each sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment for what were described as ‘a series of spiteful assaults’ on their very young son.
They had denied causing or allowing serious physical harm to a child but were both unanimously found guilty less than an hour after a jury retired to consider verdicts.
They were also convicted of child cruelty in relation to their delay in seeking medical help as their son deteriorated in November 2014.
Mother Jody Simpson, 24, and father also called Tony Smith, 46, denied causing or allowing serious physical harm to a child and cruelty but a jury took less than an hour to find them guilty
The couple told police they had had to wait at their 11th-storey one-bedroom flat in Square Hill Road, Maidstone, for a plumber to fix their boiler.
Maidstone Crown Court in Kent heard that by the time the baby, also called Tony, was seen by doctors at 41 days old, he was seconds from death with septicaemia.
He was grey, frothing at the mouth and grunting, with a ‘shockingly swollen’ body and in multiple organ failure.
It was only ‘aggressive’ medical treatment from the GP, paramedics and staff at Pembury Hospital in Kent and then London’s Evelina Children’s Hospital which saved his life.
The court heard the horrific fractures to both the youngsters thighbones and lower legs, right ankle, left thumb and two bones in a big toe were revealed by subsequent x-rays.
Experts later concluded they would have been caused by yanking, pulling and twisting, with considerable force and up to 10 days before he was finally taken to his doctor.
The dislocated fracture to the youngster’s right lower leg and ankle may have even been inflicted by a swinging action.
He was in so much pain from this one injury alone that he showed signs of distress even when sedated in hospital.
Simpson first phoned a GP on November 14, 2014, and reported the baby had cold-like symptoms and was crying
Sadly, the septicaemia was so severe that Tony, who has since been adopted and given a new identity, has been left with life-changing injuries.
As well as having had both legs amputated, his hip joints are so damaged by infection that they may not be able to even bear the weight of prosthetic limbs.
But in spite of his horrific start in life and facing on-going medical treatment and disability, the court heard how the youngster, now aged three, is thriving with his new family.
Amid remarkable court scenes in which jurors, staff and even the judge were reduced to tears before erupting into applause for his new parents, prosecutor Heather Stangoe introduced two images on a TV screen of a beaming, bright-eyed little boy giving a thumbs-up to the camera.
She then told the court: ‘Those injuries have had, and continue to have, a life-changing effect on Tony and his needs are exceptional.
‘Such a special little boy deserves a special family. And the other part of this case is that I can tell you he does have a wonderful family.
‘It is quite true to say he has just had the most wonderful impact on their life. He is a happy and delightful character in their family.
‘They want you to know how happy, how really very happy he is. He has ended up in just the most wonderful place.’
Simpson showed little emotion in the dock but craned her neck to see the photographs of her son. Smith, who has previous convictions for possessing heroin and assault causing actual bodily harm, sat with his head bowed.
Jailing the pair today, Judge Philip Statman said both were ‘equally culpable’ and had failed to protect their child, with Simpson putting her relationship with Smith before her son and showing no remorse.
Simpson (right) stared at the pictures of their son after the verdicts but Smith sat with his head bowed
He added that vigorous force would have been needed to inflict his fractures, and that any parent would have been immediately aware of such injuries.
Judge Statman said: ‘It is an aggravating feature that there was prolonged suffering in relation to baby Tony prior to him being taken to the GP.
‘It is of course the case that baby Tony was particularly vulnerable. Who can a child, a baby of 41 days, turn to other than those who have brought him into the world and are meant to love him unconditionally. That didn’t happen.
‘I cannot envisage a worse case than the one I have had to deal with over the course of the last two weeks.’
All seven women and five men on the jury returned for sentencing.
The offence of causing or allowing serious physical harm to a child carries a maximum sentence of 10 years when the child survives.
However, Miss Stangoe said it could not be said ‘with any degree of certainty who caused and who allowed’ harm to their son.
She added that although it was unknown whether the fractures were caused during one assault or on eight separate occasions, anyone caring for Tony would have been aware of the pain and distress he was in.
‘The period he was not treated was far longer than the eight hours that they say they were aware that he needed help or assistance,’ said Miss Stangoe.
Simpson wept during cross-examination by Miss Stangoe when she agreed she ‘took a risk’ with her child’s safety and failed her ‘most important and principal’ job to protect him
‘When one bears in mind his age of just 41 days, what might be seen as a relatively short time for an adult is considerably more serious in an infant.’
Tony was born to the first-time parents a healthy 7lb 7oz during a home birth on October 8, 2014.
Social services were involved as they were aware of Smith’s long-standing heroin habit. Health visitors described them as being affectionate and caring with their son, and health visitors last called at their flat on November 6.
The court heard Simpson phoned her doctor on November 14 to say the baby had cold-like symptoms. She was advised to give him Calpol and take him to the surgery when his six-week check-up was due.
However, four days later he had deteriorated to such an extent that she finally took him to her GP.
He was in shock, with his eyes closed and lower limbs hard and swollen. Experts expressed surprise that an ambulance had not been called.
They also concluded that his fractures would have caused him significant pain and obvious signs of distress.
Smith denied hurting his son, describing himself as being ‘over the moon’ to be a father.
Simpson herself told police Smith was a ‘brilliant’ dad and the couple stayed together until being remanded in custody six months before their trial.
But in court she claimed Smith ‘didn’t know his own strength’ and could be rough and heavy-handed when handling Tony.
She said she twice warned him to be more gentle when he gripped the baby too tight, raised him from the floor by his wrists, and lifted his legs by his ankles only to ‘drop them down fast’.
Simpson admitted however she never saw Smith harm their baby, and denied inflicting the injuries herself.
The couple, now of Sydney Road, Whitstable, Kent, even claimed that despite his young age, Tony was ‘active’, able to push himself up on his arms and beginning to crawl.
But Simpson wept during cross-examination by Miss Stangoe when she agreed she ‘took a risk’ with her child’s safety and failed her ‘most important and principal’ job to protect him.
She also admitted she still loved Smith.
At the start of their trial Miss Stangoe told the jury the prosecution did not have to prove who inflicted Tony’s injuries, or whether it was one or both of them.
The pair were found guilty at Maidstone Crown Court (pictured) and were each sentenced to 10 years in prison today
But she said whoever caused harm, the other failed to take reasonable steps to protect the baby from the risk of injury.
They then delayed seeking help because they knew how serious his injuries were.
‘One or both of them had caused multiple fractures to this newborn baby and they must have realised he needed medical care,’ added Miss Stangoe.
‘They said they didn’t go to the doctors sooner because they were waiting for a plumber to mend a broken boiler. The prosecution suggest their delay was because they knew the cause of his illness and severity of injuries.
‘They were reluctant to seek medical help because they knew the truth.’
Judge Statman described the work of all those involved in treating and saving the youngster’s life as ‘utterly remarkable’.
‘I cannot remember a case, and sadly I have had to do too many cases involving doctors coming to court, where the level of care has been higher than this one.
‘I am tempted to say ‘Thank goodness for the NHS’ because you know that poor baby was within seconds of death when taken to the doctor’s surgery.
‘Every single member of the health service who has come to treat him deserves the utmost praise.’
But Judge Statman saved his greatest praise for Tony’s adoptive family, which drew applause from the seven women and five men on the jury.
‘It is utterly remarkable that we have in our community those who foster children and those who look after them particularly when they have a disability,’ said the judge.
‘That shows the most wonderful compassion and caring side to the community in which we live.
‘Baby Tony’s adopted family are absolute stars. That is the only thing I think I can say. Absolute stars.’