TORONTO- 21 year old Abiola Adamo has been in custody for more than 19 months. Next week he will finally learn his fate after being convicted in July of aggravated assault and criminal negligence causing injury to his 20 day old daughter.
The crown is asking for a three to four year jail term for what they describe as “brutal injuries subject on a defenceless child by her father.” The defence suggests Adamo should be sentenced time served and probation.
On November 16th, 2012, Abike Ojo, still not even three weeks old, was taken to hospital by her mother after realizing something was wrong with her newborn.
The baby girl had bruising and was acting particularly fussy. Ojo had been left alone with her father and a roommate at the couple’s apartment.
Medical exams found the baby suffered blunt force injuries though, the crown said it’s impossible to determine how she was subjected to them.
“In these cases, you often don’t know how the baby was injured because the offender doesn’t disclose that. What the doctor can say is she was subjected to multiple actions of significant force,” explained Crown Prosecutor Laura Bird outside the Superior Court today.
The court heard Abike’s mother was taking a driving test at the time of the assault. A few hours after returning home, when she realized something was wrong with the baby, she wanted to take her to hospital. But Adamo tried to discourage her from going and was even aggravated when she didn’t listen.
The crown says the failure to obtain prompt medical attention is an aggravating factor in this case, and should be considered in sentencing.
In a police interview shown during the trial, Adamo denied hurting the baby accidentally or on purpose.
The child, now almost two, is in foster care. Though she suffered permanent brain damage, the crown says she has made a remarkable recovery.
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