
Last Updated: February 3, 2025
A five-month-old baby suffered a broken leg and fractured ribs after Cameron Shaw, 19, put the infant down with “too much force” in frustration whilst caring for them in Aberdare.
The baby’s mother heard a “loud, haunting, scream” unlike anything she had heard before. The court heard Shaw had been forcing the child’s leg into a baby grow at the time.
At Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court, prosecutor Tom Roberts explained that the femur is “one of the strongest bones in the body” and would require “significant external force” to break. Further X-rays revealed rib fractures suggesting the baby had been squeezed hard to the chest.
The baby’s mother shared her devastating impact statement: “Cameron has stolen my child’s childhood from me, I couldn’t hold (them) because he was too fragile. It made me very unwell, I couldn’t sleep or function well after the incident. I feel afraid around men and (the baby) is not comfortable around men….
“(The baby) got placed on the child protection register which made me feel like an awful mother and I suffered severely with guilt and sickness. I think every night what could have happened to (the baby) if I had not walked into that room when I did. I am worried about (the baby) suffering from mobility issues due to the injuries he suffered at a young age.
“Cameron made me feel embarrassed and people said I was a bad mother due to rumours spreading about me as people didn’t know what actually happened. I felt demoralised walking around my hometown with (the baby) in a cast at five-months-old, knowing what happened to (them)…. All I want is closure and justice for (the baby). My life will never be the same and it makes me paranoid going out with (the baby).”
Shaw, now 22, pleaded guilty to section 20 wounding/inflicting grievous bodily harm without intent and received a 22-month prison sentence plus a 10-year restraining order.