Dreadful injuries: The boy, 5, was found clinging to life at his mother’s home in Cabramatta at the end of August
A horror list of injuries a five-year-old boy allegedly suffered at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend has been read out loud in court.
The infant, who cannot be named, was found clinging to life at his mother’s home in Cabramatta, south-west Sydney, the evening of the last Friday of August.
Detectives alleged the little boy had suffered injuries from ‘head to toe’ from his mother and her boyfriend and he had been struck with a metal pole or stick.
A neurosurgeon tweeted at the time that it was the ‘worst case’ of suspected child abuse he had seen which had made him ‘physically sob while examining’.
Just what the doctor meant was made clear at the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday, as the mother’s boyfriend applied for bail nearly four months after his arrest.
Reading from a medical report, Justice Stephen Rothman said the boy would suffer ‘permanent’ neurological issues from his traumatic brain injuries.
Both the boy’s mother (left) and her boyfriend (right) have been arrested and charged. Both were charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and she was charged with failing to find her son medical care
The boy was found at this home in Cabramatta (from behind, above) on August 28 after a neighbour heard a commotion and called police
The doctor reported that ligature marks had been found around the child’s neck which indicated ‘restraint or strangulation.’
Blunt force injuries damaged his retina – a critical part of the eye – as well as ‘bilateral haemorrhages’.
The child suffered extensive bruising to ‘all parts’ of his face, as well as two rib fractures and further fractures to his left arm, lower spine and left forehead.
The doctor said the boy’s injuries were consistent with several episodes of ‘inflictive traumatic abuse’ involving different types of blunt force.
The police investigation of the crime scene had found ‘numerous pieces of broken wood, which on closer inspection revealed blood spots’, Justice Rothman said.
Blood spots were likewise found on the bedroom walls. The court heard the blood was later identified as belonging to the child.
The court was told police likewise found two metal poles and one plastic pole inside the home. ‘One metal pole had a burnt end to it,’ the judge said.
‘And those findings (of the poles) are consistent with occasioning of the injury of the kind I have already referred.’
The boy’s ride-on Tonka truck and pushbike sat in the front yard of his mother’s home after he was taken to hospital. It was several days before the boy was brought out of a coma
Piles of water bottles, Red Bull and coconut drink were piled up in the front yard of his house as police examined the crime scene at the weekend
Meanwhile, detectives found photos on the mother’s phone from April through to August this year which corroborated the doctor’s evidence, the judge said.
The boyfriend was charged with wound with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, as was the mother, who was also charged with failing to get the boy medical care.
The boyfriend’s lawyer, Malcolm Ramage QC, said an acquaintance was undertaking to offer up a $200,000 surety he would forfeit if he broke his bail conditions.
He said the boyfriend had accommodation, the opportunity to work in a flower shop and would surrender his Vietnamese passport as part of his bail conditions.
Mr Ramage said the issue at trial will be who caused the injury that left the boy with ‘grievous bodily harm’.
Mr Ramage noted that there was evidence the boy’s mother had at one point, allegedly slapped him so hard he had a visible mark on his face.
But Justice Rothman denied the man bail, saying it was significant that the boy was traumatised and ‘is fearful of the release of either (the boyfriend) and his mother.’
His mother was denied bail during a similar application to the state’s highest court on Tuesday.
The child is living with his biological father’s family. The cases continue.
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