WARNING: This article contains details of abuse.
Two Lethbridge parents who pleaded guilty to child abuse-related offences after breaking the arm of their three-week old girl had previous convictions for failing to provide for another child five years earlier, CBC News has learned.
The mother and father pleaded guilty last month to charges of aggravated assault, failing to provide the necessaries of life and public mischief.
The 39-year-old father was handed a three-year prison sentence while the 33-year-old mother received 18 months in custody.
Neither can be named in order to protect their daughter.
Newly accessible documents — the agreed statements of facts (ASF) from the parents’ pleas — offer details of the crimes.
Previous conviction
The couple’s daughter was born on Nov. 3, 2023.
Three weeks later, the mother noticed her baby wasn’t using her left arm in a normal manner.
Doctors would later determine that the baby has a congenital condition that causes her to tuck her thumb, but at the time, the couple believed the infant’s elbow was dislocated.
The father thought he’d caused the injury by pulling on the girl’s arm while changing her at some point over the previous 24 hours.
Five years earlier, both parents had been convicted of failing to provide the necessaries of life to the mother’s child. The agreed statement of facts does not offer further details of that crime.
Because of previous convictions, “they were afraid to go to the hospital to have [the baby’s] injuries treated,” reads the ASF.
Father used ‘considerable force’ on infant’s arm
So, the couple decided to try to fix the baby’s suspected injury themselves.
The father researched how to reset a dislocated elbow and found several articles and videos on the subject.
Despite all of the articles telling the father that only trained medical professionals should treat an infant’s dislocated elbow, he made three attempts over a two-day period to “fix” the baby’s arm, with his spouse’s encouragement.
The father admitted to using “considerable force” during these attempts, according to the agreed statement of facts.
On the third try, the dad heard a “popping sound,” which he believed meant he’d been successful.
Couple lied to police
The next day, the mother noticed her daughter was in discomfort and still not using her arm properly.
The couple called their doctor to make an appointment. Once there, the doctor referred the family to the hospital for X-rays, which showed the baby’s arm was broken.
Hospital staff got the police involved but the parents had already discussed a plan to lie about how the baby was injured. They blamed someone else.
The couple claimed the infant’s injuries were caused by a cousin of the mother. They said she had babysat the child around the time of the injury.
Police put significant resources into investigating the claim.
Arm expected to heal
It took eight days but they tracked down the cousin, a woman who lives a transient lifestyle, according to the ASF.
The woman told police that the last time she’d seen the couple, her cousin was still pregnant.
Investigators also retrieved surveillance footage of the path where the couple said they’d gone on a walk while the cousin babysat. It did not show either of them in the area.
The investigation continued and the mother and father were arrested March 1, 2024.
The two eventually admitted they’d concocted the story about the babysitter.
“Both [parents] admitted that they did not bring [the baby] to their doctor or the hospital when they first noticed that she might be hurt, out of fear of how it would appear to others, especially anyone knowing their history with [the mother’s] son.”
The mischief charge relates to the lies the parents told about the cousin.
The baby’s fractured arm is expected to heal with no long-term complications.