KEY POINTS:
A Rotorua father being sentenced for biting his four-week-old baby mopped his tears with a handkerchief as he stood in Rotorua District Court dock today.
Carl Anthony St Clair-Newman, 32, beneficiary, was ordered by Judge Chris McGuire to do 200 hours' community work.
But for the fact that St Clair-Newman had been working hard to rehabilitate himself - "and that is long overdue" - there would be no question that a prison sentence would have been imposed, the judge said.
It was an assault on "the most fragile of our species - a newborn child".
Part of the reason the offence occurred was St Clair-Newman's history of drugs and alcohol abuse and, from that, a propensity for violence, Judge McGuire said.
He could not accept a submission by lawyer Andy Schulze that his client had acted out of inexperience.
"How many first time parents could claim that? Just inexperience? So there would be two million parents in this country that could claim this (excuse)?"
Mr Schulze: "I'm not saying that."
St Clair-Newman did not have the skills to know what to do in a situation where the baby would not stop crying, he said.
Judge McGuire: "What jars is the suggestion that inexperience explains this."
The defendant, who pleaded guilty late last year to assaulting a child, repeatedly wiped his eyes and nose during the sentencing.
He had been called by the baby's mother - with whom he was not living at the time - to come and help because she was exhausted, the judge said.
She demonstrated how to bottle feed and change a nappy.
But when the infant would not stop crying, St Clair-Newman said he tried to suckle it on the lip, as he had seen his partner do. The crying persisted and he became "so stressed" he bit down in frustration on the baby's top lip and nose, piercing the skin.
He woke his partner and, when bleeding from the nostril continued, took the child to hospital at 3am, where it was kept under observation for two nights.
There were no lasting scars.
Judge McGuire said St Clair-Newman had "particular issues with drugs and alcohol" but had since done a lot to rehabilitate himself.
"You said you had been constantly depressed and everything made you angry. It is plain you are extremely remorseful."
Mr Schulze said sentencing had been adjourned several times, with delays in getting an updated medical report and victim impact statement. His client was anxious for the matter to be resolved today.
The offending was out of character and had had a long lasting affect on St Clair-Newman, who was "deeply remorseful".
- NZPA
