OWEN GASKINS SENTENCED TO 27 MONTHS FOR BABY ASSAULT IN BICESTER
In a case that has shocked the community of Bicester, Owen Gaskins, aged 34, was handed a prison sentence of just 27 months after pleading guilty to a grievous bodily harm charge related to the assault of a 10-month-old baby girl.The incident occurred on March 21, 2013, when Gaskins was entrusted with the care of the young child.
According to reports, within approximately thirty minutes of Gaskins being left alone with the infant, emergency services were called to the scene.
Gaskins reported to authorities that the baby had become 'stiff then floppy,' a description that raised immediate concern among responders.
The child was swiftly transported to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, where medical professionals discovered severe injuries, including brain hemorrhages and eye hemorrhages, indicative of significant trauma.
Following the incident, Gaskins was taken into custody on March 23, 2013.
The legal process continued, and he was formally charged on November 29, 2013.
The case was brought before Oxford Crown Court, where Gaskins admitted to the charges on July 3, 2015, and was sentenced on the same day.
Detective Constable Rebecca McLeod, a member of the Child Abuse Investigation Unit based at Banbury police station, provided a statement after the sentencing.
She expressed that the outcome was a positive development for the victim, her family, and the police unit.
She emphasized that the sentence reflected the severity of the injuries inflicted upon the baby, who, fortunately, has since made a full recovery.
Detective McLeod also highlighted the tragic uncertainty surrounding the events that transpired during the time the infant was in Gaskins’ care.
She conveyed her hope that the sentence would help the victim and her family begin to heal from this traumatic experience and enable them to move forward with their lives, despite the lasting scars of the ordeal.
