A man who carried out a "sickening and repeated assault" on a toddler faces a lengthy jail term after being found guilty of attempted murder.
Lewis Prince was described in court as "a highly dangerous individual" following the horrific attack on December 7, 2022.
It took jury just over an hour to find the vile 29-year-old guilty of attempted murder. Investigators said during evidence that Prince, of Swinton, Greater Manchester, failed to take responsibility for his actions over the "grievous and abhorrent harm" his young victim suffered.
Police officers told the court that he had strangled, smothered, slapped and punched the boy, with part of the attack captured on film.
The tot's injuries included extensive bruising to his face and throat, and medics found he was in the penultimate stage of asphyxia when he was examined at hospital.
Prince was arrested in a car travelling towards Manchester, having fled the address before officers arrived. When he appeared in court he portrayed himself as a hardworking family man, who was under financial and emotional pressure, reports the Manchester Evening News.
He told the jury: "I just wasn't thinking straight." However, he agreed that strangling or smothering a toddler "could only have one intent" but insisted he had not abused the child in that way.
Prince accepted he lied in his police interview and said he had slapped the toddler in the face and squeezed his cheeks in an attempt to stop him crying. But he denied attempted murder, claiming he had neither strangled nor smothered the victim.
Det Sgt Isobel Garratt said Prince was "a highly dangerous individual".
"He has, from his arrest through to his trial, failed at every opportunity to understand and take responsibility for the grievous and abhorrent harm which he caused a vulnerable baby in distress," she said.
"The jury were more than capable of seeing through his lies. Fortunately, the toddler has made a full recovery. However, this does not take away from the grave danger in which Lewis Prince placed a vulnerable child."
Prince will return for sentencing on August 4, where he has been warned he faces a lengthy custodial sentence.
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