A Sydney father who shook his baby daughter, inflicting bleeding on her brain and damaging her retinas, has been handed a 12-month community corrections order.
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The 28-year-old man was sentenced on Monday in the Downing Centre District Court after earlier pleading guilty to causing grievous bodily harm.
The court heard that the eight-week-old child was taken to hospital in January 2019 after her father had shaken her in a self-described "game" that his wife had previously warned against.
Scans revealed the injuries suffered were consistent with a "shaken baby", with the father later admitting he folded the child under his armpit and "moved her in a circular motion".
A brain injury rehabilitation specialist a year later reported the baby girl did not appear to suffer any serious ongoing impacts from the incident.
Judge Justin Smith said the actions were not malicious or deliberate and fell into the mid-range of objective seriousness.
The court also heard that the man, who has no other criminal history and has undertaken counselling and parenting courses, continues to have the "strong support" of his wife, currently in Taiwan, and had "expressed significant remorse".
He was unlikely to re-offend but still had to be convicted and would require supervision from Tuesday, the judge said.
"Given the seriousness of the injuries inflicted and the fact that the victim was a very young child, amongst the most vulnerable people in the community, it is a serious offence and deserves some punishment," he told the court.
The man declined to comment after the hearing.
Australian Associated Press
