On-the-run dad jailed for baby's catastrophic injuries

Lucasz Gal was just five weeks old when his father Tomasz Raszkiewicz launched the attack during a vodka-fuelled row at a flat in Blackpool.

Violent Raskiewicz, 33, has been jailed for three years and two months after pleading guilty to wounding his son.

At the time of the attack, Raskiewicz was on the run from the Polish authorities and was not named on the child’s birth certificate in a bid to evade capture.

Preston Crown Court heard on November 22 Raszkiewicz and his partner had been drinking vodka at the flat they shared in Central Drive when a blazing row broke out between the pair.

Neighbours heard the couple shouting and the baby crying to such an extent one considered calling the police.

At around midnight, Raszkiewicz pushed his partner from behind, hard, with both hands, causing her to fall into the doorframe as she carried little Lucasz out of the kitchen.

The force of the blow was so severe the tot suffered fractures to both sides of his skull, bleeding to his brain and part of his skull became embedded into his brain causing him permanent brain damage.

Judge Heather Lloyd, sentencing, said: “He has only survived because of the skill of the surgeons who treated him.”

Paramedics were called to the flat shortly after midnight where it was immediately clear the little boy was seriously injured.

He was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital but later transferred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where tests and scans confirmed catastrophic injuries.

He was placed on a ventilator and a feeding tube was inserted into his abdomen as he was unable to swallow without assistance.

Raszkiewicz did not go to hospital with his son, and when he heard his partner and the boy’s uncle were about to be arrested he left the flat and was not arrested for three days.

Judge Lloyd said: “You then lied and said this was a terrible accident. That was cowardly behaviour.”

Following her arrest, Jadwiga gave the police five different accounts as to how her son had sustained his injuries and the prosecution relied on the evidence of the boy’s uncle, who had been at the flat and saw Raszkiewicz lunge at his partner, to bring the case to court.

Judge Lloyd, sentencing, said: “Your little boy was born on October 14 2015, perfectly healthy and he should have been able to enjoy a normal, healthy life as he grew older.

“Unfortunately he was born to a violent and dishonest father and a mother who has not told the truth.

“It seems to me from all that I have read that she has chosen to protect you throughout, rather than her baby boy, for only weeks after his birth, your actions towards her resulted in catastrophic, life changing injuries to him.

“She chose to protect you when she registered Lucasz’s birth, not naming you as the father because she knew there was a warrant for an offence of violence.

“She said you were hiding in this country which is why she provided the police with a false name for you. It is clear to me from the accounts you each gave that there has been an element of collusion in these false accounts.

“The prosecution has been hamstrung as a result partly by the lack of full candour from you and the boy’s mother and your plea has been accepted on the basis of the boy’s uncle’s account. He describes you and the mother arguing.

“As your partner turned to leave the kitchen she was walking away with the baby in her arms and you lunged at her pushing her from behind without warning, causing her to fall.

“Lucasz must have struck his head on both sides as there was a fracture on the right side of his skull, a ping pong fracture on the left side.

“Such was the severity of his injures, a piece of his skull was embedded in his brain. He has only survived as a result of the skill of the surgeons.

“Until recently you continued to maintain this was simply an accident.

“As a result of what happened that night, Lucasz will never life a normal life. He will be dependent on others for the rest of his life. He will have no quality of life.”

The judge accepted the attack was not premeditated.

But she said: “Common sense dictates you do not lunge at and push with both hands from behind a woman carrying a newborn baby.”

Judge Lloyd jailed Raszkiewicz for three years and two months. He will serve some of that sentence before being deported to Poland.

He will not be allowed to return to the UK for 10 years.

Speaking after the case, DS Chris Williams from Lancashire Constabulary’s Force Major Investigation Team (FMIT) said: “I am pleased that justice has been served for this poor child and that Raszkiewicz, who has never displayed any remorse for his actions, is now behind bars.”