Baby attacker 'loved her children' says partner

A Tauranga woman whose attacks on her 6-week-old baby left him with permanent brain damage has been sentenced to six years in prison.

Tracey Lee Sutherland, 27, pleaded guilty to assaulting the baby and injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm during her trial in the High Court at Rotorua last month. In sentencing her last week, Justice Paul Heath said her baby could not have come any closer to death.

"For all intents and purposes, the baby is in a vegetative state with no realistic prognosis of a successful recovery," he said.

Child, Youth and Family (CYF) had already removed two of Sutherland's children from a previous relationship before she nearly killed her son. Her 2-year-old son weighed about 8kg, his hair was falling out, he could not smile or walk and showed no speech skills, said a report to CYF.

His sister, 4, was so hungry she would refuse to leave the table, picking up crumbs to eat or eating toothpaste, said the report.

The baby was born prematurely on April 29 last year. Child, Youth and Family left the child with Sutherland and the father. Within six weeks the baby was in Auckland's Starship hospital on life support with severe facial injuries, a fractured skull and bleeding on his brain.

A CYF regional director, Geoff Williams, said the family were being investigated before the assaults.

"The child is currently being well cared for by a relative. A comprehensive plan is in place, including regular support and respite care," said Mr Williams. The baby is living with his grandmother. His father, who has had his three children from a previous relationship removed from his care, visits him weekly.

The man, whom the Herald cannot name because of suppression orders, said he still loved and supported Sutherland and hoped to marry her in a prison wedding in four months' time.

He told the Herald he took Sutherland in to live with him and his children after she lost her children, and was helping her give up drugs and alcohol when she fell pregnant. "She loved her children and she still does," he said.

He said Sutherland was remorseful despite initially blaming the assault on his three children.

"I see [the baby] every time I walk into my mother's house. I'll be honest he's very slow but he's not as bad as they make out," said the man. "He is damaged but he does react, he turns and looks at you and things like that. He has a cheeky grin, he doesn't do it very often."

The court heard that Sutherland had become frustrated while feeding her baby and jammed the bottle into his mouth. Three days later she assaulted him so badly she fractured his skull.

In court Justice Heath urged Sutherland, who will be eligible for parole in two years, to deal with her problems, including a depressive illness. "Probably the biggest sentence that you will receive here is the need to live with that for the rest of your life," he said.

Her partner said Sutherland had a hard life and what happened to their son was the end result. "He's always going to be slow - to what degree we cannot know."

The man had returned from work the day Sutherland fractured the baby's skull, and he found their son white and cold. The baby was transferred from Tauranga to Starship hospital. "He nearly died - he was so close to death it wasn't funny."

Now the boy, nearly 18 months old, stares with glazed eyes. "Just in his eyes, they have that glazed stare, that distant look.

"Yeah, he is severely disabled."

The man said the baby's carers did a lot of stimulation with the child, massaging him and moving his arms and legs. The baby wears a brace to help strengthen his legs and keep his spine straight and is fed through a tube.

The partner said Sutherland's sentence was too long and that every day felt like "crap".

Child abuse

* Tracey Lee Sutherland admitted nearly killing her six-week-old baby.

* Two children were removed from her before the attack:

Her two-year-old son, who weighed only 8kg and was unable to walk.

Her four-year-old daughter, who was so hungry she would seek out crumbs or eat toothpaste.