A baby spent months with an untreated fractured arm and six weeks with leg fractures after his drug-addicted parents failed to seek medical attention.
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A non-publication order is in place preventing identification of the parents in order to protect the identity of the baby boy.
In one offence the then 20-year-old mother got angry with the then seven-month-old boy in Orange when he refused to drink and she began striking him in the face with a bottle until an acquaintance intervened.
According to police facts, the acquaintance offered to care for the screaming baby, who had a red mark on his cheek, and once the mother left she changed his soiled nappy.
On another occasion the boy, who was then about six months old, was left sleeping unsupervised on a bed in a campervan.
The parents were outside smoking when they heard a loud thud and screaming and they found the baby lying on his stomach on the floor with his hands behind him after falling from the bed.
The 20-year-old mother put him back on the bed and gave him a bottle and a resident from a nearby house came after hearing the baby's "loud painful screaming".
Despite the fall and screaming neither parent sought medical attention and about two months later a medical exam revealed he had fractures in his left forearm that were likely caused by the fall.
The child is very young and vulnerable, unable to advocate other than by screaming in pain.
- Magistrate David Day
The fractures had almost healed despite lack of medical intervention but medical opinion was that he would have had limited use of his limbs due to the pain.
Police facts stated the pain would have restricted the baby's ability to engage in developmental activities.
On another occasion the boy was about seven months old when he and a sibling, who was a year older, woke up crying one night in Blayney.
The 20-year-old father got up and gave the older child a bottle, he then went to the baby's cot and grabbed the baby by an ankle and an arm and pulled him lower in the cot before giving him a bottle.
About six weeks later, a medical exam found the baby had lower leg fractures to his right leg that were consistent with his limb being pulled or twisted. The medical examiner found the fractures would have been painful during dressing, bathing and nappy changes and would have limited his use of the limb.
Magistrate David Day sent both parents to jail in Orange Local Court.
"The child was effectively helpless, totally dependent on adults for its care and nurture," Mr Day said.
"The child is very young and vulnerable, unable to advocate other than by screaming in pain.
"It's [unimaginable] that somebody who gives birth to a child could beat it."
The mother was given a two-year jail sentence with an 18-month non-parole period until October 27, 2022, for assault child and failing to provide for the child.
The father was given a three-year and three-month jail sentence with a two-year and two-month non-parole period for failing to provide for the child and reckless grievous bodily harm. Mr Day took into account three months and six days the father spent in pre-sentence custody.
The parents will appeal the severity of their sentences.
The parents lost custody of the children in mid-2019, and have only had limited supervised visits with them.
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