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A MAN has been jailed for six years after a Brisbane District Court jury yesterday took two hours to find him guilty of vigorously shaking a two-year-old child and causing permanent brain damage. Steel fabricator Matthew Michael John Sorensen, 29, pleaded not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to the daughter of his then de facto at the Gailes Caravan Park, west of Brisbane, in June 2003 – but was convicted after a four-day trial. Crown Prosecutor Vicki Loury told the court Sorensen, who has daughters of his own, violently shook the child while her mother was making a 10-minute visit to a nearby friend. When she returned, Sorensen was comforting the girl, who was dazed, her arms and legs stiff, her toes pointed and fists clenched. The couple did not seek medical treatment for 22 hours. The child was then taken to the Mater Children's Hospital where she was treated for bleeding to both eyes and bleeding across the back of the brain, which later developed swelling and triggered seizures. She spent a month in hospital. The jury rejected Sorensen's claim to police that the child threw herself off her bed or a bedside table in a tantrum, hitting her head. He said he found her lying on the floor, on her stomach. Four medical experts, each involved in the child's care, said the injuries were consistent with violent shaking with extensive force, possibly in combination with impact with a soft surface such as a mattress, but were unlikely to have been caused by a fall. Ms Loury said the girl, now five-and-a-half, lives in NSW with her father, who has given up work to care for her. She has paralysis on her right side, problems with attention span, short-term memory loss and language skills, and is classified as having a mild intellectual impairment. She attends a special school. The court heard the child's mother pleaded guilty in September 2004 to failing to provide the necessities of life and was sentenced to 19 days' jail and three years' probation. She now lives with her mother and has regular supervised contact with her daughter. Courier Mail (14-12-2006) Leanne Edmistone |
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A BRISBANE man has been jailed for six years after being found guilty of shaking a toddler, causing injuries which have left her permanently disabled. Matthew Michael John Sorensen, 29, a steel fabricator, had pleaded not guilty in the District Court in Brisbane to one charge of grievous bodily harm between June 7 and 10, 2003. The nine-man, three woman jury took about two hours today to convict Sorensen after a three-day trial. Judge Kerry O'Brien, in sentencing Sorensen to six years with no recommendation for early parole, said he had probably caused the injuries - which were permanent and had caused on-going disabilities - out of anger. "I accept this was an incident born, in all likelihood, out of anger and frustration, which provides no excuse, particularly as it involved a child as young as (this),'' Judge O'Brien said. Sorensen had been living with the two-year-old girl's mother in a caravan at the Gailes Caravan Park, on Brisbane's western outskirts, for about two months before the incident. The toddler suffered bleeding on the brain which caused brain damage, after her mother left heralone with Sorensen for about 10 minutes. Sorensen had contended that the girl's injuries were caused by an accidental fall while she was having a tantrum. But the crown argued the injuries could only have been caused by violent shaking. The couple waited for the child to get better even though, the mother said, she appeared dazed and couldn't eat properly. They took her to hospital 22 hours later. The mother pleaded guilty in September, 2004, in the District Court in Brisbane to failing to provide the necessaries of life. She served 19 days in jail and was placed on three years' probation. The girl, now aged five, has a mild intellectual ability, paralysis on the right side and delayed motor and language skills, and short-term memory problems. She lives with her natural father in NSW and attends a special school. AAP (14-12-2006) |
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A ONCE healthy toddler has been left with permanent brain damage and now attends a special school after allegedly being violently shaken by her mother's boyfriend, the Brisbane District Court heard yesterday. Matthew Michael John Sorensen, 29, pleaded not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm to the then two-year-old girl at Gailes Caravan Park, west of Brisbane, between June 7 and 10, 2003. Crown prosecutor Vicki Loury said the toddler's mother had left her daughter sitting on her bed in the caravan while she quickly visited a nearby friend, with Sorensen watching TV in the annex that acted as a living room. Loury said that when the woman returned about 10 minutes later, she found Sorensen holding and comforting the girl – her arms and legs were stiff, her toes pointed and fists clenched. The court heard Sorensen told the woman – and later police – that he heard a "bang" and then found the girl lying on her belly on the floor beside her bed after having apparently jumped off the bed and hit her head. In a taped interview with police, played to the court yesterday, Sorensen said the child often threw tantrums, "threw herself off the bed and headbutted things" to get attention and her own way. Loury told the court the toddler was taken by ambulance to the Mater Hospital in a semi-conscious state about 22 hours after she was injured, where she was treated for bleeding to the brain, retinal bleeding and erratic breathing. The court heard the child later developed brain swelling and brain tissue death, which was irreparable. Numerous bruises were found on her face, arms, thighs and hips. She spent a month in hospital. Loury said specialist medical evidence to be presented in the trial would show the injuries were not consistent with Sorensen's account of a fall, and were more likely to have been caused by the child being vigorously shaken. In an often wavering voice, the mother yesterday told the court her child had gone from a healthy girl who was developing normally to a child that still required specialist treatment, had intellectual difficulties and attended a special school. The 23-year-old woman said her daughter, now 5½, lives with her natural father in NSW but she still has contact with her. The mother of three pleaded guilty in September 2004 to failing to provide the necessities of life. The woman said that while Sorensen had hit the child "half a dozen" times, she had not seen him yell or swear at her and considered he had a good relationship with the child. She had left the child alone with him before. The woman's relationship with the man ended after the incident. When asked why she did not call the ambulance sooner, the woman said Sorensen told her several times to wait, that the child was "tough" and that police and child welfare officers would be waiting for them at the hospital if they called. Courier Mail (11-12-2006) Leanne Edmistone |
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