Infant’s abuse…Parents deny assaulting baby sitter

Feb 21, 2014 News

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–    Urge public to remember who real victim is
–    Presiding Magistrate satisfied with judgment

Amidst public uproar against the “severity” of the penalty meted out to the 19-year-old babysitter for abusing an infant, the child’s father is fighting back suggestions and accusations that he and his wife were abusive to her at any point in time and is asking the public to consider who the real victim is.

On Friday last, Fatima Martin was sentenced to 60 months in jail after she pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm on the infant. The ruling has since triggered several protest actions by human rights groups who are arguing that the sentence was too “severe” adding that the young babysitter was abused during her employ.
At a press conference on Wednesday, the baby’s father, Attorney-at-Law Joel Edmond related to reporters that he and his wife never ill-treated the caregiver even after she confessed to abusing the child, and are calling on organisations and demonstrators to consider that his child was the real victim in this case.
Edmond pointedly stated that he and his wife (a city Magistrate), embraced Martin as if she was family from “day one” but were beyond devastated when they saw the injuries the child had suffered at the babysitter’s hands.
DAY OF THE INCIDENT  
The father recounted that two Tuesdays ago (February 11), while at work, his wife received a text message from Martin indicating that she should come home and that “it was about the baby.”
“When my wife and I called Fatima Martin she told us over the phone that the baby had fallen off the bed and that her eye got blood. My wife and I frantically rushed home to check on our baby girl and when we arrived home our hearts broke to see the physical condition she was in,” he said.
“My one-year-old daughter, couldn’t speak to tell daddy or mommy, what was wrong? She couldn’t speak to tell daddy or mommy what happened to her? She couldn’t speak to tell daddy or mommy if she was in pain?” he lamented.
“When I saw my innocent, fragile, defenceless baby that day, her left side eye was swollen with the skin around the eye discolored to shades of black, blue and purple. The left eye itself was red with blood all around. Her cheeks on both the left and right side had cuts and discolorations of black, blue and purple. And she was clearly in distress as she was crying uncontrollably”.
EXAMINATION
Edmond stated that he asked the babysitter once again what had transpired but Martin stuck to her story and they all went to the St. Joseph Mercy Hospital for the child to be examined by Doctor  Jabour.

He said and has provided documents to prove that the injuries which were observed were most certainly caused by blunt trauma and that there were signs of strangulation.
The father recounted that they became alarmed when the doctor informed them that their child could not have sustained those injuries by simply “falling off the bed” and ordered them to return for further examinations.
“Doctor Jabour also noted that these injuries in a small child could also have serious inter cranial consequences and close observation for the next three weeks was recommended. It was also required that an exam be conducted on the left retina of my baby as the entire left eye was bloodshot.”
On February 13, he indicated that the baby was taken to Doctor Da Silva. an eye specialist to examine her retina who noted that “there was severe hemorrhaging and also that there were clear injuries that were due to strangulation.”
ALLEGED CONFESSION, POLICE REPORT
As a result, he explained that upon returning home, he once again questioned the babysitter who changed her story. He said, however, after the second doctor’s check up the next day, in the presence of independent parties he pleaded with her for the truth and she confessed to choking the child.
“Ms. Martin told me, ‘Sir Joel, I want to tell you the truth, I cuff up the baby’ so I immediately called the Police Station and reported the matter.’”
About ten minutes after my report to the Police Station, ranks from the Sparendaam Police Station arrived and Cadet Officer Singh, who was in charge of the party of policemen that arrived at my home proceeded to question Fatima Martin.”
“She told the police in my presence that, “I strike the baby, I was vex because the baby didn’t want to wear the pampers”. The police left with Ms. Martin. I followed the police van to Sparendaam Police Station and made a formal report in relation to the brutal attack Fatima Martin perpetrated on my baby.”
The father slammed reports which claim that it was a “Magistrate who complained to a Magistrate” stating that it was he who lodged the report.
PROSECUTION AND CONVICTION
On Valentine’s Day, Martin was taken to the Sparendaam Magistrates’ Court to be indicted on a charge of Inflicting Grievous Bodily Harm before Magistrate Sueanna Lovell.
Reports are that the charge was laid indictably and after the Administration of Justice Act was applied, Martin pleaded guilty to the crime and was sentenced to five years imprisonment after she told the presiding Magistrate that she “got vex” and committed the act.
“BASELESS ACCUSATIONS”
In response to the statements and accusations, Edmond sought to dispel concerns that the babysitter was being overworked and ill-treated during the time of her employ.
According to Edmond, after placing an advertisement in the newspaper for a live-in nanny, they hired Fatima Martin last November and have since been paying her $10,000 weekly to take care of the one-year-old. He explained to reporters that she was accommodated in an air-conditioned, self-contained room in their Atlantic Ville residence. Edmond pointedly stated that they have another domestic help who takes care of the household tasks.
The babysitter, he explained would go home on weekends and in some cases, he and his wife would even offer her a ride to her sister’s residence in Grove, East Bank Demerara.
JUSTICE
The Attorney indicated that he noticed the protest against the sentence and stated that he cannot fathom how the same people who call for justice for victims of domestic violence can change their cry when it is a young baby who was battered.  He made it pellucid that neither he nor his wife would have contacted the presiding Magistrate and they did not even sit at the bar table at the time of the babysitter’s arraignment.
“As far as I am concerned there is nothing a one-year-old baby could have done to a 19 or 20-year-old woman to warrant the gruesome beating and strangulation of a defenseless infant.”
“My baby cannot speak to say what heinous and depraved violent acts were done to her at the hands of Fatima Martin. The physical scars that remained on her tiny body were sufficient to tell the Doctor clearly that she was beaten repeatedly and strangled.”
The father questioned what would have happened if Martin had killed his baby.
“How would I have been able to live knowing that I allowed my baby to stay with someone who didn’t think twice about beating her with such ferocity that she may have inter-cranial damage in years to come? This was not a mere assault committed on my child, but this was an infliction of grievous bodily harm.”
APPEAL
Edmond indicated that he is not too worried about the moves by the young woman and her attorneys to appeal the Magistrates’ decision since that is an issue for the courts and that he believes that justice will prevail in the matter.
The attorney stated that he would welcome any investigation of his family and the way Martin was treated while she worked for them and indicated that his concern is now his daughter who has to go to the doctor for daily visits since the incident.
PRESIDING MAGISTRATE SATISFIED WITH JUDGMENT
Meanwhile, Magistrate Sueanna Lovell who sentenced Martin says that she is satisfied with her judgment.
She made the disclosure to reporters while attending the historic and ceremonial sitting of the Caribbean Court of Justice on Thursday for retiring Judge, Madam Justice Desiree Bernard.
According to Magistrate she acted within the confines of the law. She asserted that she could understand how people may perceive the action since it was another Magistrate whose child was abused.
Magistrate Lovell told reporters that she would not wish to further divulge anything else since the matter was being appealed.
On the same day, Fatima Martin was granted $100,000 bail pending appeal.

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