Finland Times

 

District court in Helsinki. Photo Lehtikuva.

The Uusimaa district court on Thursday sentenced a father to four months of conditional imprisonment for rough handling of his three-month-old baby.

 

Originally, the prosecutors called for a verdict of aggravated assault, because the baby was diagnosed with a broken left radius and cerebral haemorrhage.

 

The court found that shaking was the most likely cause of the bleeding in the brain. The reason for the broken arm was also most likely shaking or wrenching.

 

Both the mother and the father denied shaking the baby. The court concluded that the primary charge of aggravated assault and secondary charge of causing personal injury had to be dropped, because the baby had been looked after by someone else who could have possibly been at fault for the shaking injuries.

 

The baby was under the care of, among others, a grandparent who was not called before the court.

 

The court also dropped the charge of neglect. The parents had taken the baby to a clinic, where the injuries were not noticed. 

 

According to the court, the parents, therefore, could not be at fault for failing to notice the injuries either.

 

The father dangled the baby while changing diapers, bounced the baby on the bed and spun around on the floor with the baby in his arms. The incidents were described with reconstruction videos.

 

The final verdict in the case was assault.