The grandmother of a five-month-old girl who was hospitalised with serious injuries has told a court that the father of the child faked photographs, which he alleges show that the infant sustained bruises while being minded by her.
A 31-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is on trial at the Circuit Criminal Court in Cork, charged with assaulting his infant daughter.
The trial previously heard that the child had bruises on her face, cheek, stomach, abdomen and right buttock, as well as abrasions on her left temporal area, her cheek and her nose, when she was examined by doctors at Cork University Hospital on January 4th, 2021.
Her parents brought her to hospital as she had been vomiting for eight hours.
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The grandmother of the child was cross-examined on Friday by defence senior counsel Ray Boland. Two photographs of the infant, which were allegedly taken by her father, were entered into evidence as defence exhibits.
The father of the child claims that the photographs were taken on occasions after the alleged incidents for which he is on trial and during times when the grandmother was taking care of his daughter.
The photographs entered in to the defence exhibit are dated February 15th, 2023 and March 1st, 2023 respectively. Mr Boland showed the grandmother the first picture, which appeared to be of the child at the centre of the case with a small bruise on one of her thighs. The woman said that the photo was fake and that the child never had this bruise.
The second photograph was of the child with a scratch and a bruise on one of her thighs. The grandmother stated that the child did have a scratch but she insisted there was no bruise.
She said that the bruise was “added in” to the photograph. When asked by Mr Boland if she was claiming that the bruising was photoPhotoshoppedhe agreed that was the case.
Meanwhile, Dr Rosina McGovern, consultant paediatrician, previously told the trial that when the child was admitted to Cork University Hospital (CUH) in January 2021, it was established that she had suffered a subdural haemorrhage, a fractured collar bone, blood on the surface of the brain and tearing of its connective fibres in addition to bruising and abrasions.
Dr McGovern said she believed the injuries constituted serious harm.
Prosecution senior counsel Jane Hyland said serious harm defined in Irish law is “an injury that creates a substantial risk of death or causes serious disfigurement or substantial loss or impairment of mobility of the body or function of a bodily member or organ”.
The father of the child has pleaded not guilty to counts of assault causing harm to his infant daughter, assault causing her serious harm and a count of cruelty.
The case will continue on Monday of next week in front of a jury of seven women and five men.
