Man bit baby in attempt to soothe, court hears
by Felicity Dear · Otago Daily Times Online NewsA Waikouaiti man who bit his 3-month-old baby told police the assault happened in his sleep while having an ‘‘aggressive dream’’, a court has heard.
Kalib James Rule, 28, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after earlier pleading guilty to an assault charge.
A Crown summary outlined that on June 9 last year, the baby was at home in the defendant’s care when the child’s mother noticed he had a swollen hand.
The next day, the baby was taken to a doctor to be examined and a report of concern was made to Oranga Tamariki.
When spoken to, Rule admitted he had caused the injury, but claimed he was sleeping next to the baby, had an ‘‘aggressive dream’’ and woke up biting his hand.
He gave a different explanation to a probation officer, the court heard.
Yesterday, Judge Belinda Sellars, KC, highlighted the offending was ‘‘extremely out of character’’ for the defendant.
He had no previous convictions and had since engaged in courses to better manage stressful situations.
‘‘You were extremely tired and stressed when this offending occurred and you made an extremely stupid decision to try and settle the baby in this bizarre manner,’’ the judge said.
‘‘You have basically done everything you can to address this.’’
Judge Sellars sentenced Rule to six months’ supervision and encouraged him to continue engaging with services to ensure nothing similar happened in the future.