March 2015 Bad-tempered thug who broke baby’s leg and arm with ‘reckless’ cruelty spared jail A furious thug whose “reckless” cruelty left a baby with a broken leg and fractured arm has walked free from court. Bad-tempered Josh Campbell admitted harming the defenceless youngster but was spared jail despite doctors blaming his “rough handling” for the injuries. Doctors said the leg injury may have been caused by yanking and the arm break appeared to be a “forceful rapid rotation injury”. But Campbell, 20, who has anger management issues, denied yanking the baby’s leg at Newcastle Crown Court and instead pleaded guilty to child cruelty on the basis of “reckless rough handling”. He claimed he injured the baby by lifting it out of a cot by its arms and forcing its leg into a baby grow. Michael Hodson, prosecuting, said: “The Crown are opening the case on the basis of rough handling and reckless behaviour. “The Crown say there was not deliberate pulling in order to hurt the child, but an impatience to get the child to do what the defendant ignorantly thought the child ought to be able to bear. “It’s clear the defendant has a short fuse and can be an angry individual who has a problem with his temper, especially when drunk. “When he was told about the injuries he became very silent and dropped his head.” Newcastle Crown Court heard how the baby was taken to hospital because it’s right arm was not moving freely and X-rays discovered fractures to the arm and leg. Campbell, of Quarry Lane, South Shields, who admitted child cruelty, was given an eight month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, with supervision and 150 hours of unpaid work. Judge Robert Adams told Campbell: “You accept you were too rough. The child suffered two separate fractures on two separate occasions. “I accept that you bitterly regret this, it is clear from your letter. You were 19 at the time, you are now 20, have clearly grown up and are determined to put this behind you. “I don’t consider you are a dangerous offender and sending you to immediate custody is going to achieve very little in this case.” Katherine Dunn, defending, said: “He is a 20-year-old man who is young, immature and naive. “The injuries were caused when he was roughly handling the child. He has learned a very harsh lesson indeed.”