Former soldier jailed for assaulting baby in Glasgow restaurant

An ex-soldier who battered a four-and-a-half month old boy while out with his sex offender friend then lied to the police about who he was with, has been jailed for 14 months.

33-year-old David Parker was watching the baby when he met up with Paul Higgins and his partner Kenneth Grant - who is the subject of a sexual prevention order to stop him coming into contact with children.

While in the changing room at KFC on Glasgow’s Argyle Street, Parker assaulted the child who was then seen “crying and visibly distressed”.

The police were later contacted when the baby's mum saw injuries on his face and he was later found to have further bruises on his thighs and head.

When questioned by police officers about what he had done that day, Parker claimed he was only with one friend who he named as being called Paul.

But, CCTV from KFC showed Grant with Parker - who was seen hiding the baby’s face.

At Glasgow Sheriff Court, Parker, from East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire pled guilty to assaulting the four-and-a-half-month old baby by “inflicting blunt force trauma on his head and body by means unknown” to his injury on June 10, last year.

He also admitted providing false information with intent to pervert the course of justice.

Sheriff Johanna Johnston QC jailed Parker for a total of 14 months.

She told him: “These courts exist to protect the public, in particular it exists to protect the most vulnerable members of society, there’s nobody more vulnerable than an infant.

“They cannot move, they cannot speak and for you to inflict injuries on that child, that is something you will have to live with for the rest of your life.”

Defence lawyer Stephen McQuillan said Parker claimed the child wouldn’t settle and that he put his hand across the baby’s face and mouth and held his head, while he was trying to change him, which caused "quite serious bruising".

The court heard around lunchtime while watching the child, Parker went to meet his friends Higgins and Grant at Glasgow Central Station.

Procurator fiscal depute Scot Dignan said: “Kenneth Grant is a registered sex offender and subject to a Sexual Offences prevention Order, preventing him from coming into contact with children.

“Parker had been informed of this previously by Grant in their six-year friendship.”

Grant was upset at Parker bringing the child with him and later told officers “I was cursing and swearing at him. He knew I shouldn’t be near kids.”

The three men went to KFC where Parker then took the baby to the changing area for 10 to 15 minutes.

Mr Dignan said: “Parker returned with the child who was now crying and visibly distressed.

“Higgins at this point noticed that the child had red marks under his right eye that were not present before.

“Higgins recalls the accused appeared frustrated with the child at this time.”

Grant described the child as “screaming the restaurant down”.

Parker took the child back to his mother later that day, who saw he had a black and blue mark on the corner of his left eye and asked what happened to him.

The baby’s mother phoned her own mum and sister for advice who visited the child and the police were contacted.

An ambulance and paramedics examined the baby and he was taken to Hairmyres hospital where it was decided to transfer him to Wishaw General.

After a full examination he was found to have bruises to both thighs, various bruises on his head and bruises on his left cheek which was swollen.

He also had a bruise on his right cheek just below his mouth and a “tiny” bleed in his left eye.

Parker gave a statement to the police and claimed he was with a Paul Docherty that day and no one else.

In a further statement three days later he named his friend as Paul Robinson although it was eventually established it was Paul Higgins.

Higgins told police he was with Parker and that he didn’t remember him taking the baby to the toilet.

Mr Dignan said: “At 4pm on July 16, 2017, police attended at KFC Argyle Street and reviewed CCTV from June 10 around 12.30pm.

“It was established from this that Parker and Higgins had entered the premises along with the child however there was a third male with them.

“This man was later identified as Kenneth Grant.”

The court heard in the footage the child seemed fine until he came out of the changing area, at which point was “visibly upset and the accused can clearly been seen to be hiding the child’s face”.

In further statements, Higgins and Grant admitted they had all agreed to keep Grant’s name out of it.

Mr Dignan added: “Grant accepts he breached the terms of his Sexual Offences Prevention Order in that he was voluntarily in the presence of a child and that throughout the day in Glasgow he interacted and held him.”

Parker was later arrested and gave a no comment interview.

The court heard earlier Parker has been suffering from stress, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of combat from when he was in the infantry in Iraq.

The baby had been “crying for some time” while he was looking after him and that “had been building up and came to a head”.

Mr McQuillan said Parker knew Grant had an order but didn’t know the details of it.

He also said Parker has since lost his job and is “likely to be unemployable because of this”.