Registered childminder jailed for 16 years for assaulting two baby girls
A registered childminder found guilty of seriously assaulting two baby girls in her care has been jailed for 16 years.
Anouska Coleman, 37, was convicted of two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent following an earlier trial at Basildon Crown Court.
She was sentenced at the same court on Friday to 16 years in prison, the Metropolitan Police said.
One of the baby girls was nine months old and the other was seven months old.
Coleman, of Lancing Road, Romford, north-east London, called 999 in March 2015 stating that the seven-month-old girl she was looking after had become unresponsive.
The baby was taken by ambulance to Great Ormond Street Hospital and diagnosed with a bleed on the brain.
Medical examinations revealed the injury was most probably as a result of a trauma, which would have occurred shortly before the ambulance was called.
The exact cause of the baby’s injuries remains uncertain but is likely to have involved an impact or impact with shaking.
Detectives from the Met’s Child Abuse Investigation Team later reviewed a previous case where a nine-month-old girl suffered a leg fracture in October 2014 while in Coleman’s care.
The original investigation concluded that there was insufficient evidence to pursue a prosecution but the case review resulted in Coleman (pictured) being charged with a second count of grievous bodily harm.
Detective Chief Inspector Keith Paterson said: “The parents of these two baby girls put their trust in Coleman to look after them and she abused that trust in the most awful way.
“The lives of the girls and their families have been hugely impacted and the girls will carry the scars of the injuries they have sustained at Coleman’s hands through the rest of their lives.
“We may never really know how or why Coleman injured these defenceless babies, but ultimately she caused their injuries and must now face the consequences of her actions.
“I only hope that today’s sentence can give a small measure of comfort to the families knowing that Coleman has been brought to justice for her terrible actions.”
Coleman was sentenced to seven years in prison for assaulting the nine-month-old girl, and to nine years in prison to run consecutively for assaulting the seven-month-old girl.
The Metropolitan Police said the force had fully co-operated with a Serious Case Review process and findings will be published on Monday.
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2017, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) Met Police / PA Wire.
