An Illawarra man who subjected his 12-week-old daughter to a series of brutal assaults, including "karate-chopping" her on the torso, tried to claim the child's injuries were self-inflicted, a court has heard.
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The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, physically abused the girl on multiple occasions in August 2019, leaving her with fractures to seven ribs, her right wrist and visible facial bruising.
However, when interviewed by police, the man said his daughter was to blame, claiming she had thrown her head back and struck a door frame.
He again lied to police in a second interview the following day, saying the girl had hit her own head on the wall.
Unconvinced with the explanation, police planted a bug inside the Warrawong home the man shared with the child's biological mother.
He and the woman were recorded talking about their daughter's injuries, at which time the man admitted he'd "karate-chopped" the girl and squeezed her ribs.
He was arrested on October 1 and remanded in custody on a host of domestic violence charges.
The man appeared via video link in Wollongong Local Court on Wednesday where he entered guilty pleas to charges of recklessly causing grievous bodily harm and assault.
A set of agreed facts tendered by prosecutors said the man and his partner had already come to the attention of Illawarra Family and Community Services caseworkers prior to the girl's birth in early June amid concerns about drug use in the household.
The man attended the FACS office in Coniston with his daughter on August 22 to talk about housing issues, at which time caseworkers noticed the girl had bruising to her head and face, which they had not seen when they attended the family's home a week earlier.
The child was removed from the couple the following day and given a thorough medical examination, which revealed she had seven ribs fractures, each in different stages of healing, indicating they'd been inflicted on separate occasions.
"These rib fractures were caused by the offender deliberately applying significant force [to the child], well above that of the normal handling of an infant," the agreed facts read.
"The force was either a direct impact to the ribs or the squeezing of the rib cage."
The fractured right wrist and facial bruising were also attributed to the father's actions in abusing the child.
The man will face Wollongong District Court next week for a sentencing date to be set.
He is yet to enter a plea to further charges before the court relating to the alleged physical abuse of the girl's mother.
