A Co Louth man accused of assaulting the 14-month-old son of his then girlfriend was convicted at Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court last night at the end of a two-day trial.
The 23-year-old had denied assaulting the boy causing him harm and a further count of wilfully assaulting the child who was in his care on October 15th, 2004.
The jury of seven men and five women retired shortly before 4.30pm and took more than three-and-a-half hours to return a guilty verdict on the charge of wilful assault on a child in his care in a manner likely to cause him unnecessary suffering. They had been told they could only convict the accused of one of the offences.
Reporting restrictions were put in place to protect the victim's identity. At the request of the defence, Judge Pat McCartan agreed to remand the accused on continuing bail until next Wednesday when he will be sentenced.
The infant was hospitalised because doctors were concerned about "suspicious bruising" to his face. At the time the man was living with the boy's 24-year-old mother and he had offered to mind him while she went shopping.
The jury heard that when she returned about two-and-a-half hours later the child was in his cot and the man left the house to go to the bank.
The boy's aunt went to get him and found bruising and red marks to the left side of his face above and to the side of his eye.