Dad Placed on Bond For Shaking and Shouting at His Baby in Cafe

A father was placed on bond after he shook and shouted at his five-month-old girl in a cafe.

A court has heard that a 39-year-old father, from Carrum Downs, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had taken his children to the Spanish Bar Cafe on Sunday, August 28, to allow his wife to rest after a number of difficult nights with the unsettled infant.

Prosecutor Senior Constable Ross Treverton said that the father became agitated as the baby started crying, then screaming.

The father put the baby in the pram, then pushed and rocked it along the street, saying “stop crying, stupid baby” and “this has got to stop”, the court heard. “One witness described him holding the baby away from him and shaking the baby, causing its head to thrust back and forth,” the prosecutor said.

Concerned witnesses called police and reported that the baby girl was red-faced and screaming. They later tried to block in the man’s car so he couldn’t leave the scene.

When paramedics arrived, they checked the baby who was not injured and the father drove away with his baby and five-year-old son.

Police then went to the father’s home, where he was detained for a family violence order, and later interviewed.

The father pleaded guilty yesterday to one count of unlawful assault. His lawyer, Angelina Centrone, said that he had long-term mental health issues and was overwhelmed on the day of the assault.

Sen-Constable Treverton told the court that an assault on a child was a serious offence, and general deterrence was an important consideration in sentencing.

However, the father walked from court on a good behaviour bond.

Magistrate Clive Alsop, who said many parents had struggled to cope with unsettled children “” including himself “” said the “spectre” of the bond would hang over his head for two years. He told the man he acted entirely inappropriately but accepted he had serious mental health problems and had sought help.

The father’s wife, who was with him and supported him in court, said that her husband was a responsible and loving father.

Source: Kidspot.com.au