Mother Lorien Norman (pictured) could have been sentenced to up to 13 years behind bars. Photo / Facebook
Mother Lorien Norman (pictured) could have been sentenced to up to 13 years behind bars. Photo / Facebook
Warning: This article contains details and images that some may find upsetting.
Lorien Norman is a free woman after bashing her 8-month-old daughter with a spoon - because the judge said the baby's injuries were "likely to resolve".
Evie's mother beat her with a spoon. Photo / Facebook
The 26-year-old mother from Adelaide was given a good behaviour bond by the court and ordered to pay $500, even though the offence of causing harm with intent - which she pleaded guilty to - carried a maximum sentence of 13 years.
Judge Jack Costello said if she does not reoffend for two years, she doesn't even have to spend the minimum non-parole period of 10 months in jail, the Daily Mail reports.
Norman called police on October 1 last year, threatening to throw baby Evie off a balcony in Adelaide. When police arrived, they found the baby covered in bruises.
Photo / Facebook
Little Evie was found to have "at least eight separate blows to the face and body", caused by a spoon and a hand.
The mother first tried to say the baby had fallen in a playground but later admitted to the violence.
The judge didn't consider Norman's offending serious enough for a jail term.
"While any assault of a child, particularly one of such a tender age and vulnerability, by a parent stands as a gross breach of trust, your offending is nevertheless far from the most serious of offending of this type in terms of the degree of force involved and the duration of the offending," said Judge Costello.
Photo / Facebook
He added the injuries were "likely to completely resolve", the Daily Mail reported.
Evie's father Shane McMahon said this was why he had "no faith" in the judicial system and pointed out on Facebook that he'd "be still in jail" if he'd done that to a child.
He now has full custody of Evie and told the Daily Mail he is "disgusted" and "truly speechless" by the court's decision.
"I've raised these girls [Evie and India, the second child he had with Norman] single handedly, and she gets 10 months of a sentence that carries a maximum of 13 years! Where is Evie's justice?"
