A mother has bragged about avoiding jail time for beating her eight-month-old daughter in a horrific attack.
In September last year, Lorien Norman from Adelaide, Australia, was given a suspended jail sentence and a $500 fine by a District Court judge.
She’d pleaded guilty to abusing her baby, Evie, with a kitchen serving spoon, leaving her with bruises to her eyes, nose and cheeks, causing her to be hospitalised.
The maximum sentence for an offence like this is 13 years behind bars but 26-year-old Lorien instead received a small fine and two-year good behaviour bond.
Her former partner and the father of Evie, Shane McMahon, told the Daily Mail how after her sentencing, Lorien sent him texts bragging about how she got away.
The messages read:
So, I’m not going to jail. What’s your next move?
I’ll send you photos in October. Cute family photos of myself, Indi, Evie, my sister, her partner and my nephew Hudson.
Even with everyone on social media against me, I still made it. And I’ll be having part custody within a year.
Initially Norman claimed Evie got her injuries thanks to a fall in a playground before later pleading guilty to aggravated assault causing harm.
McMahon was absolutely speechless when he heard the sentence handed to Lorien:
I’m disgusted – I’m truly speechless. Where is Evie’s justice?
I’ve raised both these girls [Evie and India – the second child he had with Lorien] single handedly, and she gets 10 months of a sentence that carries a maximum of 13 years!
McMahon believes it could be years before his daughter overcomes the mental scars as the attack could cause her long-term issues.
He continued:
Mentally she hasn’t been cleared, because it’s too early in a baby’s life to determine what the exact mental repercussions will be.
She’s going to have to have extensive mental rehabilitation down the track, but the concern is, what upsets her most, is she doesn’t like anything near her face.
My other daughter has a soft ball and if it goes anywhere near her or near her face she cowers, so she knows what she’s been through and she’s well aware she’s been hurt.
Despite being unable to have a haircut because she’s afraid of anything being near her face, according to her dad, Evie’s physical health is thankfully back to normal.
Shane stated:
She’s fantastic. It’s 12 months on and she’s been given the all clear physically by the paediatricians, so there’s no long-term affect on the physical structure of her bones.
Before she got here she was quite timid, shy and scared, but she’s come into her own little world – she runs the place now.
She’s just a cheeky little monkey running around without her nappy, climbing up on the bench when she’s not supposed to, drawing on the walls – she’s a beautiful girl.
Although Lorien has now received her sentence, McMahon is still fighting for changes to be made to the law to protect children like Evie.
You can follow his campaign on the Facebook page Evie’s Journey.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues, and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child contact the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000. If you are a child seeking advice and support call Childline for free on 0800 1111.
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