A thug who put a 13-month-old girl in a tumble dryer has been jailed for seven years.
Thomas Dunn, 25, claimed he had only “assisted” the toddler after seeing her climbing into the machine.
Dunn, of Hamilton, Lanarkshire, said he did not fully close the door on the child but the dryer had activated and started rotating.
The attack left the child, who cannot be named for legal reasons, with skull fractures.
On another occasion, he hit the child on the head and body causing her severe injury.
Dunn was found guilty of a charge of culpable and reckless conduct and a charge of assault in June after a trial at Dundee Sheriff Court.
Sheriff Alistair Brown sent Dunn to the High Court to be sentenced after saying he believed the maximum five-year sentence at his disposal was not long enough.
He said: “The assault charge is so monstrous and carried out with such utter indifference to this little girl’s life that my powers are not adequate to deal with you.”
Yesterday, judge Lord Brodie sent Dunn to prison for seven years.
Passing sentence, he said: “You have been found guilty after trial of very serious offences against a one-year-old child who had been in your care. As you yourself accept, there is only one sentence I can impose for these offences and that is custody.”
During proceedings earlier this year, the court heard how the attacks took place at an address in Arbroath.
Dunn, originally of Brechin, had claimed he was “mucking around”.
After assaulting the girl in January by hitting her on the head and body, striking her against an “object” and biting her, he lied that he had found her lying limp.
She was taken to hospital and medics found she had suffered brain injuries.
They contacted police who found enough evidence to prove Dunn was responsible for her injuries.
