Woman jailed over 'most shocking' child abuse case police have seen
WARNING, DISTRESSING CONTENT: A woman has been sentenced to jail for up to seven years over what police have described as one of the most shocking cases of child abuse they've seen.
Brooke Roberts, 31, beat a little girl so savagely her injuries were described as like those in a high-speed car crash.
Roberts claimed the little girl did it to herself after she was left covered in bruises and bite marks.
“She threw herself into the coffee table, she started running towards the door frame, and I said to her ‘please stop’,” she told police.
“I don't know what's causing her to do this.”
Police who deal daily with child abuse cases were appalled.
Child Abuse Squad Detective Chief Inspector Peter Yeomans said the case was “repugnant in the highest degree”.
“She's still suffering from those injuries but look we're hopeful that she will recover fully and have somewhat of a life in front of her from now on,” he said.
Pediatricians documented more than 60 separate bruises on the child's body, as well as evidence of strangulation and two adult bite marks.
She also suffered brain injuries.
In sentencing, Judge Stephen Hanley described the little girl's injuries as horrific and horrendous, he told the court she had been deprived of a quality of life that she could have been capable of.
Roberts’ parents were at Parkes District Court to see her sentenced but gave no comment outside court.
Despite pleading guilty, the 31-year-old has shown little remorse.
She’ll serve a maximum of seven years behind bars for what she did to a defenceless child.
Roberts will be eligible for parole in 2022.
