Calgary mother who broke baby's bones over 12-month period gets 2 years in prison
For breaking her baby's jaw, elbow and rib, a Calgary mother will almost certainly spend less than two years behind bars.
A publication ban was imposed on anything that would identify the child which means his mother cannot be named.
The boy now lives with his father who was charged with assaulting his wife and released on a peace bond.
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Originally charged with four counts of aggravated assault, the woman pleaded guilty to a single count on Friday afternoon.
A joint submission of a two year prison sentence was proposed by Crown prosecutor Ron Simenik and defence lawyer Shamsher Kothari, and accepted by Justice Jo'Anne Strekaf. The mother can apply for parole in six months.
"This is a very sad and tragic case because it involves an assault on a young and vulnerable child by his mother who is the person that is most entrusted with taking care of her son," said Strekaf.
The child was born in Feb. 2013 and in Oct. 2014 the mother brought him to Airdrie Urgent Care telling medical staff he'd been vomiting and had a fever for two days.
She said he had bruising and swelling in his elbow and doctors became concerned after x-rays showed the child had a fractured elbow. The mother was told to take her son to the Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary.
A child abuse investigation was launched after further tests showed the elbow fracture, a broken rib, a broken jaw and an injury to the child's pancreas.
Doctors determined all of the injuries were inflicted at different times — between a few days before the child's hospitalization and up to a year before when the baby was just a couple of months old.
The child was believed to have been punched in the face and stomach and pushed into or hit with objects.
The woman was taken into custody on Friday afternoon.
