Dad's severe shaking led baby's eyes to bleed

A 20-year-old father will be sentenced next week for shaking his 4-month-old son so severely he caused the little boy's brain and eyes to bleed.

The boy survived but spent three weeks in intensive care and will need ongoing therapy and assistance.

His father, Jarvis Eru De Thierry, pleaded guilty, on the first day of his trial at the Manukau District Court last month, to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to his son.

Court documents said the baby was asleep in his cot when he began to cry loudly about 9pm on August 2 last year. De Thierry became involved in an argument with his partner, the boy's mother, and she walked out of their Papakura house.

When she was gone, he went to his bedroom where the baby slept and closed the door.

He lifted the little boy up and began violently shaking him.

The shaking silenced the baby and caused his limbs to go stiff. He didn't show any signs of breathing.

When the mother returned, she took the infant from De Thierry and called an ambulance.

He was rushed to Middlemore Hospital but his condition was so serious he was taken to the Starship.

Doctors discovered he had bleeding to the brain that required surgery to drain. He also had haemorrhages in both eyes.

The different ages of the blood indicated there were at least two different causes of trauma.

After the assault the boy's 18-month-old brother, who has a different father, was taken into Child, Youth and Family custody.

De Thierry was arrested a few weeks later but when spoken to by police refused to give a statement and offered no explanation for his actions.