Father's fury over sentence

A FURIOUS dad has criticised the jail term given to a man who left his baby disabled and unlikely to live beyond the age of 20 following a violent assault.

Peter Hadden, 26, of York Crescent, Claydon, was jailed for three years at Ipswich Crown Court on Monday following the attack in December.

The assault left the baby, who was only two-weeks-old, with serious head injuries and fractures and bruises to her body.

At the time she was placed on a life-support machine at Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge and given a 50/50 chance of survival. She was left partially sighted, suffers from seizures and is being fed through a tube in her nose.

Her 24-year-old father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said that both him and the baby's mother were “really upset” by the sentence �- which he said could result in Hadden being released in 18 months' time.

He said: “I think that no matter what sentence he got it is not enough for what my daughter and her family have got to go through. For what he did to a two-week-old baby I think people who commit burglaries get more. He has affected a two-week-old baby for the rest of her life and she needs 24-hour care. I do not think that it is enough and it has really upset both of us.

“They said that he could be out in 18 months and for what he did I do not think that is enough, 18 months will not affect him.”

Hadden had admitted inflicting grievous bodily harm on the baby. Jailing him for three years, Judge Peter De Mille said the child had suffered life-threatening injuries and would have to live with the consequences of what he has done for what was clearly a shortened life span. The child is not expected to live beyond the age of 20.

Roger Thomson, representing Hadden, said his client was remorseful. He also said his client had no history of violence, had feelings of inadequacy and had been on anti-depressants since the incident.