MAN JAILED FOR NINE YEARS AFTER TRYING TO KILL BABY GIRL
A MAN who shook a two-month-old baby and left her severely brain damaged was jailed for nine years yesterday.Donald Loudon tried to shift blame onto the child's mother but was convicted of attempting to murder the little girl.
He was also found guilty of kicking the mother while she was pregnant.
During sentencing at the High Court in Glasgow, judge Ian Peebles QC described the crime as "wholly appalling" and highlighted its devastating impact on the child, who was left with a lifelong disability.
The judge added, "This was a child of only a few months old who had the rest of her life to look forward to and who now faces horrendous difficulties." An additional six months were added to Loudon's sentence for attacking the mother.
Earlier court proceedings revealed that Loudon frequently looked after the baby and her two sisters at their home in Newmains, Lanarkshire.
Evidence indicated injuries from June 14 to August 28, 2006, including "very extensive" and "irreversible" brain damage shown in hospital scans.
The girl also suffered multiple fractures, some caused by twisting her leg.
Her seven-year-old sister testified that she had seen Loudon shaking the baby.
