A violent martial arts fan attacked a toddler with a near-fatal blow to the stomach.
David McMullen brutally attacked the two-year-old boy while babysitting him just days before Christmas 2016 - leaving the child with a torn colon and intestines.
The youngster was described as “gravely ill” as he was rushed to hospital for immediate surgery.
A trial heard how violent McMullen, 35, was trained in Muay Thai fighting at the time, reports the Daily Record.
Prosecutors said McMullen “delivered a blow” to the tiny victim resulting in the near-fatal internal injury.
But, despite the evidence, the boy's mum told jurors she did not believe the thug was responsible.
McMullen – a chef who helps run a sushi company – is now behind bars after being convicted of attempted murder at the High Court in Glasgow.
He was found guilty of inflicting massive "blunt force trauma" to the child by "means unknown".
McMullen, of the city's Provanmill, will learn his fate next month.
He was looking after the boy at his home in Cambuslang , South Lanarkshire, while his mum was at work.
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The child was sleeping when she left on the morning of December 21, 2016.
But, a panicked McMullen later called stating the boy was sick and “freezing cold”.
The mum rushed home and gave her ill son a cuddle.
She recalled: “He told me his tummy was sore. It felt quite hard.
“I wrapped him in a big fluffy cover, but I could still feel how cold he was. I could also see that his lips were blue.”
The mum and McMullen raced the child to hospital.
The boy had bruising on his stomach. It was quickly decided he needed surgery.
The split to the colon and intestine area was described as “rare”.
His mum told jurors: “I remember crying and being shocked. I just wanted to make sure my son was OK.
“The doctors were asking what happened, but I directed them to David as I was not there.”
Consultant surgeon Nicola Brindley operated on the child.
Prosecutor Michael Meehan asked how ill the two-year-old had been.
Miss Brindley: “He was a gravely ill little boy. He could have died.”
The mum and McMullen were later told by medics they believed the injury was “non accidental”.
She recalled the surgeon stating to her: “I am telling you someone has done this to your child.”
But the mum “refused to believe” the boy had been deliberately harmed.
McMullen's QC Gordon Jackson asked her: “Had you any suspicion that David had done anything?”
She replied: “No.”
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Mr Jackson: “You still don't have a suspicion?”
The mum again said: “No.”
But, Mr Meehan put to him: "My position is you delivered a blow that caused the injury. It was you who did that."
McMullen: "That is not true".
Lord Armstrong deferred sentencing for reports.
