Former Camelon woman jailed for assault which saw nine-month-old baby burned with hairdryer

Lyndsay Lawrence, 29, carried out the violent assault on the infant when she was supposed to be looking after the tot.

A judge told her at the High Court in Edinburgh that he assessed her culpability for head injuries sustained by the nine-month-old boy as "high".

Lord Tyre said there could be no excuse whatsoever for the infliction of such injuries on "a small and vulnerable child".

The judge said: "To make matters worse they were committed when you were in a position of trust to the child."

Lawrence, formerly of Mariner Road, Camelon, was originally charged with attempting to murder the baby on December 4, 2020. A jury at her earlier trial acquitted her of that charge but found her guilty of assaulting the child to his severe injury and to the danger of his life.

Lawrence was convicted of inflicting trauma to the head of the baby by means to the prosecutor unknown and by shaking him.

She was also found guilty of wilfully exposing the child in a way likely to cause him unnecessary suffering or injury by burning his body with a hairdryer.

She was acquitted of a further allegation that she exposed the child to cocaine and amphetamine and caused him to ingest the drugs.

Lawrence had denied the offences at the trial and the court heard that she continues to deny causing injuries to the child.

At the end of the trial Lord Tyre told jurors that it was "a rather distressing and unpleasant case". The judge said among his papers was a report from a consultant paediatrician who saw the infant months after he was injured.

The baby boy attended his clinic with a foster parent who reported he was a happy and alert child. The consultant said it was his opinion that the child had made a good recovery.

Advocate depute Lynsey Rodger told the court that the evidence suggested that the baby was normal until he was left alone with Lawrence, who was supposed to be looking after him for his mother.

She said up until then he was not suffering from a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain and significant burns to his bottom.

The prosecutor said: "(The baby) had been normal and then all of a sudden, for no reason the accused can explain, there was a change in his demeanour."

"There was a high pitch shriek, a grunt or a noise. His eyes went back. He was rigid and then he was floppy. He wasn't normal at that point," she said.

She said: "There is only one person that knows what happened to the baby on December 4. That person is the person who caused the injuries."

"The evidence, when you put it together, tells you that the person who caused the injuries is the accused. We know the injuries were non-accidental. They were deliberate. They were an assault upon him."

Lawrence told the court in her evidence that the child suddenly became unwell and made "like a weird noise". "His full body went tense and then it was like he went weak," she said.

She contacted her mother and a neighbour, who was a nurse, and a 999 call was made to summon emergency help. Lawrence denied that she hit or dropped the child.

During cross examination the advocate depute said to her: "The only thing you can do now is to say you don't know what happened because the alternative is to admit you hurt him." Lawrence responded: "No, that's not right."

Speaking after Lawrence was sentenced at the High Court, Detective Constable Jonathan McRitchie said: “Lawrence’s actions resulted in serious injuries to a defenceless child and she will now face the consequences.

“This type of behaviour is completely unacceptable and her conviction should send out a clear message that Police Scotland is committed to bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice.

"Please report any offences to us. We work closely with our partner agencies who assist in providing the relevant support and assistance to victims of crime.”