Injured child: babysitter to face trial

A Port Kembla man accused of bashing a six-month-old boy so severely he had to be placed on life support will face trial in Wollongong District Court.Adam Crosby Boardman will let a jury decide his fate after pleading not guilty in Wollongong Local Court yesterday to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.Police allege the 38-year-old squeezed the infant's head with force and shook the baby for up to 30 seconds while yelling at him to "shut up".The court heard the baby sustained severe bruising to the face and head, subdural brain haemorrhaging, a perforated eardrum, retinal damage, a fractured humerus and multiple rib fractures on both sides, as a result of the alleged attack.A part of the infant's skull also had to be removed to relieve the severe swelling on the brain. Doctors believe the baby boy will suffer permanent brain damage, possibly causing paralysis, after being placed on life support at Sydney Children's Hospital.A brief of evidence tendered to court included photos of the bruised and battered baby in hospital, covered with tubes and monitoring equipment.The infant's parents had left him with Boardman and his defacto wife on May 8 for the night, while they went out with friends, the court heard.Boardman and his defacto, who has not been charged in relation to the assault, initially denied knowing how the injuries occurred, saying the baby was placed in a portable cot in the couple’s lounge room to sleep around 8.30pm.According to facts before the court the pair had spent the night drinking and listening to music with a visiting neighbour in the backyard, before Boardman went to bed around 10pm.Nothing seemed amiss when the defacto checked on the baby at 2am and fed him at 8.30am the next morning, she told police.However when the baby’s parents arrived at 10am they immediately noticed severe bruising on their son’s face and rushed him to Wollongong Hospital.After a three-week investigation, which included several police interviews and the use of a listening device at Boardman’s home to gather evidence, Boardman was arrested.He allegedly told police he picked up the crying infant and walked into the kitchen area, ‘‘accidentally’’ bumping the baby’s head on the door frame.When he tried to put the baby back into his cot, he told police he fell into the cot, partially landing on the baby.It is alleged he also admitted to squeezing the baby’s head for several seconds and then shaking him, when he would not stop crying.Boardman will appear in Wollongong District Court on November 2.