Dad convicted of assaulting, permanently disabling infant daughter; could get 10 years in prison (Toronto, Canada)

Daddy also beat the baby's mother. Such a surprise.

And yet we have the Queen of Denial who actually argues that this dimwit f*** should be "looking after" his daughter again. Why? So he can kill her off for good?

Dad is identified as MALCOLM RICKETTS.

http://metronews.ca/news/toronto/425783/crown-asks-for-10-years-in-malcolm-ricketts-baby-maiming-case/

November 2, 2012 Updated: November 2, 2012 | 12:29 am

Crown asks for 10 years in Malcolm Ricketts baby-maiming case

By Staff Torstar News Service

The Crown has asked for a 10-year prison sentence for the man convicted of assaulting and permanently maiming his infant daughter because of the father’s lack of remorse and understanding of the seriousness of the crime.

Crown prosecutor Laura Bird said that Malcolm Ricketts, 22, “will be dangerous in the future to both women and children.”

Philip Hiebert, Ricketts’ defence lawyer, said his client didn’t intend to harm the baby and asked instead for a three-to-five year sentence.

In July, Ricketts was convicted of five counts of violence against his girlfriend, Christina Hammond, 21, and their then-infant daughter Heaven Hammond-Ricketts.

On one occasion, a witness testified that he threw Hammond and their baby against the wall like “a crash test dummy.”

On another, Ricketts apparently shook his baby so hard he broke several of her ribs and both legs and caused bleeding in her brain.

Heaven, now 2, has severe cerebral palsy, and is “unable to perform basic functions that a child of a few months could do,” said Bird. “She cannot sit up let alone crawl or walk.”

The young girl, who was born with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, cannot talk or see properly.

Ricketts faces a maximum of 12 years in jail. In asking for 10, Bird argued that he needs a significant deterrent.

“Heaven is serving a life sentence … and would have died if not for the heroic efforts of the doctors at Sick Kids Hospital,” said Bird.

“She will never recover from what her father did to her.”

Bird also asked that Ricketts be banned from owning a firearm and that his DNA be taken and kept on file.

Ricketts, who took the stand briefly in his defence, said he just wanted to get back together with Hammond and see his daughter again.

He spoke in a timid voice so soft he had to be repeatedly reminded by Judge Bonnie Croll to speak louder.

“I’m willing to do anything in the criminal justice system, any program to get my life back on track,” said

Ricketts, who has spent more than 31 months in jail awaiting the verdict. Ricketts’family, including Hammond, maintains his innocence and says that Heaven’s condition was caused by her difficult birth and inappropriate care in hospital.

“Malcolm would not do anything like this. He would never hurt his child,” said his mother Monique Ricketts.

“Malcolm is not a criminal,” she said. “He should be out looking after his daughter.”

Ricketts’ cousin, Patrick Anderson, blamed Hammond’s family for their inconsistent testimony.

His sentence is due in two weeks