Crime
Man denies injuring baby as jury hears police interview in ongoing abuse trial
THE JURY in the trial of a Pembrokeshire man accused of physically and sexually assaulting a baby heard his police interview today, in which he repeatedly denied ever harming the child.
Christopher Phillips, aged 34, of Kiln Park, Burton, is charged with multiple offences after a baby – referred to only as Baby C – was rushed to Glangwili Hospital in the early hours of 24 January 2021 following a 999 call from a flat in Haverfordwest.
The child’s mother, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is also on trial. She denies allowing the baby to suffer serious physical harm and denies child cruelty.
Multiple injuries of different ages
Earlier in the week, the court heard that an x-ray revealed the baby had suffered a fractured ankle, fractured wrist and six fractured ribs, alongside bruising to his back, neck and chest. A perforated eardrum, swelling and bleeding inside the ear, and reddening and injury to the buttocks were also noted.
Radiologist Professor Amaka Offiah previously told the jury there was “no underlying condition” that would make the child more vulnerable to fractures and said there had been “no explanation proffered” for how the injuries could have occurred.
“These injuries must have been inflicted,” she said.
Judge Paul Thomas KC told the jury that the child’s injuries have since “healed without complication.”
Paediatrician: injuries consistent with “penetrative blunt force trauma”
Today, consultant paediatrician Dr Louise Newbury, who specialises in cases of suspected child sexual abuse, gave detailed evidence.
She told the court that two sets of injuries were present: one likely caused between 12–17 January, and a second sometime between 23 January and the child’s hospital admission.
Her opinion was that the most severe injuries were “most likely caused by penetrative blunt force trauma” to the baby’s anus. She described redness extending from the anus up to the lower back, swelling, and a deep laceration which left “no muscle function at all” at the site of the cut.
The baby also had a testicle injury which Dr Newbury said was caused by either “blunt force trauma” or twisting, occurring sometime between 12–18 January. Bruising had left the scrotum a “dusky purple”.
She told the court the child was in “extreme distress” in hospital and required morphine twice – something she said she had rarely had to administer to a baby of that age in 25 years. Video of the child recorded the day before showed a “very different baby”, making it “very unlikely” the most serious injury occurred before that recording.
Defendant’s police interview read to the jury
This afternoon the jury heard the defendant’s police interview, read aloud by prosecutor Joshua Scouller and DC Jamie Hughes.
Asked directly whether he was responsible for the injuries, Phillips replied: “I’m not, no.”
He told officers he normally saw the baby’s mother around five times a week but preferred to leave her home around 1:00am or 2:00am because he “preferred the comfort” of his own house. He said he was only ever alone with the baby briefly, usually when the mother went to the bathroom.
Phillips described the baby as having been “crying more” that week because of an ear problem and said he had noticed nappy rash and blood in the child’s nappy, but no other injuries.
When questioned about the anal injury, he said he did not accept he had caused it:
“I don’t see how I could have caused the tear from wiping his [bottom]”
Officers asked him whether he had ever accidentally hurt, dropped or assaulted the child.
Phillips replied: “I have never accidentally or deliberately hurt [the baby]… I have never assaulted a child before.”
He also denied causing a head injury after officers asked about a message in which the baby’s mother had asked if he had “bumped” the child’s head. Phillips said he had only struck his own leg on a table while carrying the child and was unaware of any head injury.
The jury has been told that when paramedics were called on 24 January 2021, the baby was distressed, had blood in his nappy and a high temperature. Hospital staff quickly raised concerns of a “non-accidental injury”.
Expert witnesses: who they are
The jury has heard from two senior medical specialists in the fields relevant to the baby’s injuries.
Professor Amaka Offiah is Professor of Paediatric Musculoskeletal Imaging at the University of Sheffield and an Honorary Consultant Radiologist at Sheffield Children’s Hospital. She is widely regarded as one of the UK’s leading authorities on assessing skeletal injuries in infants and is a co-author of the national radiology guidelines used in cases of suspected child abuse. Her expertise includes distinguishing accidental fractures from those caused deliberately or through trauma.
Dr Louise Newbury is a Consultant Community Paediatrician and former Clinical Director of GRACE – the specialist child sexual abuse assessment service for south-east Wales. She is one of the clinicians in the UK accredited to the highest level for examinations in suspected child sexual abuse. Her work focuses on evaluating genital and anal injuries in babies and very young children and providing expert evidence to courts.
Both witnesses were asked by Dyfed-Powys Police to review the medical findings in this case and gave their professional assessments to the jury over the past two days.
The trial, prosecuted by Caroline Rees KC, with Tom Crowther KC representing Phillips and John Hipkin KC acting for the mother, continues before Judge Paul Thomas KC.
Proceedings will resume at 10:30am on Friday.
Crime
Woman stabbed partner in Haverfordwest before handing herself in
A WOMAN who stabbed her partner during a drug-fuelled episode walked straight into Haverfordwest Police Station and told officers what she had done, Swansea Crown Court has heard.
Amy Woolston, 22, of Dartmouth Street in Milford Haven, arrived at the station at around 8:00pm on June 13 and said: “I stabbed my ex-partner earlier… he’s alright and he let me walk off,” prosecutor Tom Scapens told the court.
The pair had taken acid together earlier in the day, and Woolston claimed she believed she could feel “stab marks in her back” before the incident.
Police find victim with four wounds
Officers went to the victim’s home to check on him. He was not there at first, but returned shortly afterwards. He appeared sober and told police: “Just a couple of things,” before pointing to injuries on his back.
He had three stab or puncture wounds to his back and another to his bicep.
The victim said that when he arrived home from the shop, Woolston was acting “a bit shifty”. After asking if she was alright, she grabbed something from the windowsill — described as either a knife or a shard of glass — and stabbed him.
He told officers he had “had worse from her before”, did not support a prosecution, and refused to go to hospital.
Defendant has long history of violence
Woolston pleaded guilty to unlawful wounding. The court heard she had amassed 20 previous convictions from 10 court appearances, including assaults, battery, and offences against emergency workers.
Defending, Dyfed Thomas said Woolston had longstanding mental health problems and had been off medication prescribed for paranoid schizophrenia at the time.
“She’s had a difficult upbringing,” he added, saying she was remorseful and now compliant with treatment.
Judge: ‘Nobody knows what the outcome will be’
Judge Geraint Walters told her: “Whilst having an episode, no doubt, you stabbed your partner — something he took a rather blasé approach to. We need to sort out your problems. You taking a knife to somebody – you or somebody else – nobody knows what the outcome will be.”
Woolston was jailed for 12 months, but the court heard she has already served the equivalent time on remand and will be released imminently on a 12-month licence.
Crime
Banned for 40 months after driving with cocaine breakdown product in blood
A MILFORD HAVEN woman has been handed a lengthy driving ban after admitting driving with a controlled drug in her system more than ten times over the legal limit.
SENTENCED AT HAVERFORDWEST
Sally Allen, 43, of Wentworth Close, Hubberston, appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (Dec 4) for sentencing, having pleaded guilty on November 25 to driving with a proportion of a specified controlled drug above the prescribed limit.
The court heard that Allen was stopped on August 25 on the Old Hakin Road at Tiers Cross while driving an Audi A3. Blood analysis showed 509µg/l of Benzoylecgonine, a breakdown product of cocaine. The legal limit is 50µg/l.
COMMUNITY ORDER AND REHABILITATION
Magistrates imposed a 40-month driving ban, backdated to her interim disqualification which began on November 25.
Allen was also handed a 12-month community order, requiring her to complete 10 days of rehabilitation activities as directed by the Probation Service.
She was fined £120, ordered to pay £85 prosecution costs and a £114 surcharge. Her financial penalties will be paid in £25 monthly instalments from January 1, 2026.
The bench—Mrs H Roberts, Mr M Shankland and Mrs J Morris—said her guilty plea had been taken into account when passing sentence.
Crime
Mother admits “terrible idea” to let new partner change her baby’s nappies alone
Court hears from timid mother who was barely audible in the witness box who said she carried out no checks to establish whether Phillips was safe to be around her child
A MOTHER who cannot be named for legal reasons gave evidence yesterday in the trial of Christopher Phillips, the man accused of physically and sexually assaulting her infant son – referred to as Baby C – and causing him life-changing injuries in January 2021.
Phillips, 37 at the time, had been in a relationship with the mother for only a few weeks when Baby C, then around 10 weeks old, suffered catastrophic anal injuries at a flat in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire. The child was rushed to Glangwili Hospital in the early hours of January 24 and survived, but the harm was permanent. Phillips denies 11 counts of sexual penetration of a child under 13, four counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, all between December 20, 2020, and January 25, 2021. The mother denies two charges of causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm and two charges of child cruelty by neglect.
The prosecution alleges that Phillips deliberately inflicted the injuries while alone with the baby during nappy changes, using a finger coated in Sudocrem as lubricant on multiple occasions, leading to escalating harm including blood in the nappies and ultimately a massive tear and prolapse. A central part of their case is that the mother repeatedly allowed Phillips unsupervised access to her son – including taking him into another room to change his nappy and shut the door – despite knowing very little about him and despite behaviour that should have raised alarm, such as his insistence on privacy and her own unease.
Late on Thursday morning (Dec 4), under lengthy and forceful cross-examination by Caroline Rees KC, prosecuting, the mother appeared composed but spoke so quietly and timidly that people in court struggled to hear her answers. She conceded point after point:
- She carried out no checks to establish whether Phillips was safe to be around her child.
- She allowed him to be alone with Baby C from the very start of January 2021 (possibly even before 2 January).
- She ignored her own concerns and permitted Phillips to shut the door while changing the baby’s nappy, telling her not to enter or accusing her of “micromanaging”.
- She accepted that this had exposed her son to “a massive risk” and had been “a terrible idea”.
The mother explained that Phillips had said he wanted to learn nappy-changing because he “never got the chance” with his own child. She initially stayed in the room but soon permitted him to take Baby C into a separate room alone. She also recounted noticing odd details during changes, such as Phillips having Sudocrem around his finger “as if it had come from a pot” – despite her not owning a pot of the cream – and him leaving the room without putting the baby’s babygro back on after fastening the nappy, which immediately struck her as wrong. A few days earlier, she had discovered extensive bruising to the baby’s bottom, a swollen testicle and blood in his nappy, prompting her to confide in family and seek medical advice, though Phillips became angry when she mentioned the appointments.
Key moments from the cross-examination
Caroline Rees KC: “You took no steps whatsoever to keep Baby C safe, did you?” Mother (barely audible): “No.”
Caroline Rees KC: “You did absolutely nothing to keep him safe, did you?” Mother: “No.”
When His Honour Judge Paul Thomas KC asked her to clarify for the jury why she let Phillips change the baby alone, she confirmed:
“I wasn’t allowed in the room. If I tried to go in he would accuse me of micromanaging.”
She said this made her feel “annoyed”, but she “ignored it”.
Caroline Rees KC put it directly to the mother:
- “The signs were all there, weren’t they?”
- “It was a terrible idea, wasn’t it?”
- “You could have stopped it at any time – by doing the changes yourself or by ending the relationship.”
- “This man wanted to have your baby on his own more than is normal.”
The mother eventually accepted each proposition, agreeing that:
- Allowing Phillips to change the baby alone had been “a terrible idea”;
- The warning signs that she should have stopped it were present;
- Phillips’ desire to be alone with her son was greater than normal.
She admitted she had been “keen to have company” and had tolerated behaviour she should never have accepted.
Legal matters will be dealt with tomorrow morning only. Closing speeches are expected to continue into Monday.
The trial continues.
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