A north-east teenager who assaulted a baby will be spending Christmas behind bars after he was arrested for failing to turn up at court.
Shane Baird was due to appear at Aberdeen Sheriff Court for sentence two weeks ago, after he previously admitted grabbing hold of the infant’s leg and squeezing it.
The tiny limb was covered in bruises as a result and she was taken to hospital for a series of tests, including a CT scan and multiple X-rays, to ensure she had not been left with broken bones.
Last month Baird admitted carrying out the attack in January at an address in Aberdeenshire and sentence was deferred for background reports.
But the 19-year-old failed to appear before Sheriff Graeme Napier on December 8 and a warrant was issued for his arrest.
Yesterday, he appeared in the dock after the warrant was executed.
His agent, solicitor Stuart Flowerdew, told the court the teenager had panicked about what was going to happen to him following press reports about the case.
Mr Flowerdew urged Sheriff Annella Cowan to release his young client on bail to await sentence next year, but she remanded him in custody.
Last month fiscal depute Anne MacDonald told the court the child had been in good health and had no visible injuries in the days leading up to the assault.
She said Baird, of Carnegie Crescent, St Combs, had offered to look after the youngster and had prepared a bath for her.
Hours later the child’s mother was wakened by the little girl’s cries.
Miss MacDonald said the mother found this strange as her child was normally content unless she needed fed or changed.
The next day, she discovered finger-like bruises on the baby’s leg.
Miss MacDonald said: “The mother confronted Baird and asked if he had done something to her baby and he said at that stage ‘I might have held her too tightly after her bath’.
“Apart from the obvious bruising the mother said the child appeared to be fine.”
The court heard that the authorities were informed about the bruises and doctors ruled they were “non-accidental”, prompting a series of tests.
Miss MacDonald added: “A medical examination was carried out and it was confirmed that there was no other medical condition which could have caused these bruises and that the bruises were thought to have been highly suspicious.”