Police officer sentenced for assaulting newborn baby

A 30-year-old police officer has been sentenced to a 10-month community-based order for assaulting his five-week-old baby girl at their home in Stratton last month.

Nickolas Wayne Peake faced Midland Magistrates Court today, having earlier pleaded guilty to assaulting his daughter. The baby did not sustain any injuries in the incident.

The court heard that on the night of the incident, Peake's daughter had been lying in her bassinet next to her father's side of the bed when she began screaming and crying around 11pm. Peake picked up his daughter by her sleep-sack and tried to settle her. However, when he was unable to do so, he shook her back and forth three times and yelled "shut the f*** up". Peake's wife immediately took the baby from him and he left the room.

"It's hard to imagine anyone more vulnerable to an offence of this kind," Magistrate Paul Lyons said. "Acting the way you did represents a betrayal of trust, not just that your infant has put in you, but that which your broader family has put in you. Physical violence of this kind is utterly unacceptable and must be deterred."

Peake claimed his memory of the incident was "a blur". Magistrate Lyons acknowledged that Peake's actions were "isolated and out of character", but noted that the risks they posed to his baby daughter were great.

The court heard that Peake's wife had experienced a complicated birth with their daughter, enduring a 40-hour labour and blood loss. Peake had sought counselling in the wake of the assault.

Magistrate Lyons said that while Peake had been experiencing stress as a new parent, his experience was not unique. "It strikes me the circumstances you faced are similar or the same as any other new parents," he said. "And you, as does anybody facing this situation, need to learn to control yourself and deal with the stresses which come with being parent."

Despite this, Magistrate Lyons said a term of imprisonment was not appropriate, citing Peake's open and forthcoming behaviour with the Department of Communities and his early plea, which he said was "reflective of genuine remorse for what happened and what you did".

Peake's lawyer, Stuart Counsel, applied for a spent conviction to mitigate adverse consequences to his client's employment prospects, stating "It is likely Mr Peake will lose his job over this and the significant media coverage will make future employment difficult". However, Magistrate Lyons dismissed the application and ordered Peake pay $850 in costs.