In dramatic day-long cross-examination, Christopher Phillips repeatedly denies sexual penetration, as prosecution alleges escalating anal attacks ended in catastrophic injury

CHRISTOPHER PHILLIPS, 28, spent almost six hours in the witness box today. During the entire afternoon he underwent a sustained and highly graphic cross-examination by prosecuting counsel Caroline Rees KC.

The defendant is accused of cruelty and multiple sexual assaults on his then-girlfriend’s two-month-old son between December 2020 and January 2021, culminating in life-threatening anal injuries discovered when the child was rushed to hospital on 24 January 2021. The baby’s mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is jointly charged with causing or allowing serious physical harm.

Both defendants plead not guilty.

Ms Rees KC opened the day by telling Phillips that the prosecution case was that he had developed a sexual interest in penetrating the baby anally and had used his finger, coated with Sudocrem, to do so on a number of occasions before finally causing the “catastrophic” tearing injury seen in the medical photographs.

Sudocrem and the mechanics of nappy changing

The prosecutor took Phillips step-by-step through his own description of how he applied Sudocrem: Ms Rees: “You would put a blob of Sudocrem on one finger, then use another finger to smear it around the nappy area?” Phillips: “Yes.” Ms Rees: “So your finger was covered in Sudocrem?” Phillips: “Yes.” Ms Rees: “And you accept you sometimes changed the baby completely alone?” Phillips: “Yes, occasionally.” Ms Rees: “You are extremely experienced with anal sex. You know that the first thing you do is use a lubricated finger to relax and open the sphincter before anything larger is introduced?” Phillips: “With consenting adults, yes.” Ms Rees: “Precisely. And that is exactly what you did to this baby with your Sudocrem-covered finger on more than one occasion, wasn’t it?” Phillips: “No. Never. Absolutely not.”

The alleged progression of assaults

Ms Rees put it to Phillips that the bright red blood he first noticed in the nappy around 12 January 2021, the further bleeding he photographed and sent to the mother on the night of 23 January, and the eventual massive tear and prolapse discovered hours later formed a clear escalation. “You were testing the water,” Ms Rees said. “First a little bleeding, then a bit more, and finally you went too far and caused the terrible injury the jury have seen.” Phillips repeatedly insisted the blood was caused by constipation and a haemorrhoid he had personally identified.

The baby’s rattle

Returning to the incident in which Phillips pressed the baby’s rattle against his own anus as a joke, Ms Rees said: “You have a highly trained eye for objects that can be used anally, don’t you, Mr Phillips? Within a split second you saw that rattle and thought ‘sex toy’.” Phillips replied: “It was a stupid, throw-away moment of jocularity. I didn’t insert it.”

Deletion of material from his phone

Within 48–72 hours of the baby being admitted to hospital in a life-threatening condition, Phillips wiped large quantities of sexual photographs, videos and internet search history from his device. Ms Rees: “You realised the game was up and you frantically deleted anything that showed your sexual interests, didn’t you?” Phillips: “I deleted adult material involving [the mother] because I was embarrassed. There was never anything involving the baby to delete.”

The final night – 23/24 January 2021

Cell-site records show Phillips arrived at the flat around 18:30 and did not leave until 02:57. He accepts he changed the baby’s nappy three times that night, including once around 22:17 when he photographed fresh blood and sent it to the mother who was in the next room. Ms Rees put it to him that shortly before he left he carried out the most serious assault, causing the full-thickness tear and prolapse, then “calmly walked out knowing the child was catastrophically injured”. Phillips answered: “When I left he was quiet and settled in [the mother’s] arms.”

Closing accusation

At the end of the afternoon, Caroline Rees KC rose and addressed the defendant directly: “Mr Phillips, over a period of weeks you sexually assaulted this two-month-old baby with your finger on multiple occasions. On the final night you penetrated [Baby C] so violently that you caused the devastating injuries shown in the photographs the jury have seen. That is the truth, isn’t it?” Phillips turned to face the jury and replied firmly and clearly: “No. I did not. I have never touched that baby sexually or harmed [the baby] in any way whatsoever.”

Caroline Rees KC indicated she still has further questions. Cross-examination will resume tomorrow morning before His Honour Judge Paul Thomas KC.