THE Crown Office was under fire last night after it emerged prosecutors will not appeal against a decision to spare an Aberdeen baby-batterer a jail sentence.
Nathan Allen was ordered to carry out 280 hours of unpaid work in the community after repeatedly assaulting a three-week-old infant until her brain bled.
Sheriff Annella Cowan also placed him under supervision for three years as an alternative to custody – despite labelling Allen a “dangerous person”.
Following the sentence, children’s charity bosses said they were outraged that the 21-year-old had not been locked up.
And officials at the Crown Office in Edinburgh said they were considering launching an appeal to try to secure a harsher punishment.
However, a spokesman for the Crown Office said yesterday: “Following full and careful consideration of all of the facts and circumstances in this case, Crown counsel instructed that there should be no appeal.”
Last night, a north-east MSP said prosecutors had “a lot of explaining to do”, while the NSPCC said sentences should reflect the crime and the “potential for future offending”.
During a week-long trial, jurors heard the joiner “accidentally dropped” the child when she “rolled off” one of his arms as he stood holding her.
But medical professionals giving evidence at Aberdeen Sheriff Court said the injuries could not have been caused by accident.
The infant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had a brain haemorrhage, a broken ankle, scratches to her face and bruising that covered most of her body.
Allen, of 2 Quarry Place, Aberdeen, tried to cover up what he had done and even tried to blame his dog for kicking the baby.
NSPCC Scotland’s national head of service, Matt Forde, said: “This is a devastating case, the consequences of which this little girl and her family will have to live with for ever. The court’s decision rests on individual circumstances, and sentences should reflect both the crime itself and the potential for future offending.
“All children must be assured of receiving the full protection of the law.
“When they are as young and vulnerable as this baby was, they are wholly unable to defend themselves and rely on us, as adults, to protect them and – when the worst happens – ensure that justice is served.”
North-east Labour MSP Lewis Macdonald said the decision made by the Crown Office was “surprising”.
He said: “This is a very distressing case, not only for the baby but others who have been involved, and the Crown Office have a bit of explaining to do.
“One of the things dear to me when hearing of such a distressing case is that victims are often not consulted as to what is happening.
“Have the Crown Office had this discussion – with the mother of the child, for example?
“If not, then they have a lot of explaining to do as, on the face of it, this is a very surprising decision they have made.”
While the Crown has the right to appeal, the Appeal Court has set a high standard that must be satisfied.
A Crown appeal will not succeed merely because the Appeal Court considers that it would have passed a more severe sentence than that imposed by a sheriff.
The sentence must be regarded as unduly lenient, which means it must be outwith the range of sentences that the sentencing judge could reasonably have imposed.