Jail sentence increased for Australian man who beat up partner's baby nephew

Sydney: A man in Australia who was arrested for brutally assaulting his partner’s baby nephew, had his prison sentence increased by three years on Wednesday.

The infant became a quadriplegic for life due to severe injuries to his skull and subsequent brain damage, said a report in Daily Mail. He also suffered brutal injuries to his ribs, along with bite marks and retinal bruising.

The court had initially sentenced 34-year-old Andrew Nolan to eight-and-a-half years behind bars in 2016, who had related four versions of the incident that took place in 2014, during the hearing. He had also denied thrashing seven-month-old Bobby Webber when he was questioned by the police after the incident.

The sentence upset the victim Bobby Webber’s parents, who felt that Nolan didn’t 'deserve to breathe' and felt ‘there was no justice served’.

The incident took place on the NSW Central Coast when Bobby was alone with Nolan, whose partner, Bobby’s maternal aunt went to a drive in.

Nolan tried putting the blame on an intruder, but later admitted stamping the child on the back and dragging him along the carpet, said the report. However, he could not tell the court why he had assaulted the child.

On Wednesday, Court of Appeal judges increased Nolan’s minimum sentence to 11-and-a-half years. His maximum sentence has also been increased from 12-and-a-half-years to 15 years and 3 months, and he will be eligible for parole in April 2026.

With little hope left, Bobby was initially taken off life-support but later managed to breathe by himself.