An Armagh man who lost his temper and smacked his three-year-old daughter, causing bruising, after she poured bleach into the eyes of a pet rabbit, was jailed for two months yesterday.
The 36-year-old unemployed man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is to appeal. He was freed on personal bail pending the hearing. The incident on May 23rd was described by the resident magistrate, Mr Mervyn Bates, in Armagh District Court as an "attack" on a little girl.
At an earlier hearing, the man had pleaded guilty to causing his daughter actual bodily harm after smacking her four or five times. On that occasion, the magistrate was shown photographs of her injuries, which he termed "serious". He postponed dealing with her father to enable a pre-sentence report to be prepared by the Probation Service.
And he warned the man that imposing a prison term was in the forefront of his mind. After reading the report, the magistrate said he saw nothing in the report to make him change his mind. He told the man: "There is no doubt the child had done wrong. But a child of three has no criminal responsibility and needs guidance, not the kind of punishment you inflicted." He added that the violence demonstrated against the child was unjustified.