Dad who shook baby has jail term increased

A father who left his baby son permanently disabled after shaking him has had his jail term increased from four to six years.

Christopher Yates had consumed cocaine and 11 pints of lager before he shook his six-month-old son with the force of a "high velocity car accident," causing severe brain injury, blindness and a likely inability to learn to walk.

The 30-year-old from Gateshead admitted causing a child to suffer serious physical harm and was jailed for four years at Newcastle Crown Court in July, but the Solicitor General referred the sentence to the Court of Appeal.

Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr said: "The sentence imposed by the judge was not only lenient but unduly so."

Gemma White, for the Solicitor General, said Yates shook the baby five times, while yelling at him to shut up on 5 October 2025, but did not contact medics until six hours later when he claimed the child had fallen from a chair.

The court heard Yates gained custody three weeks before the incident after the baby had been taken from his mother into foster care.

Family members were concerned Yates was not being supported by professionals and became easily frustrated with the child, the court heard.

Their concerns included him not clothing the child properly and his flat being a "mess" strewn with dirty nappies and empty alcohol cans.

White told the court the sentencing judge had not properly reflected the level of harm caused to the baby and had reduced the sentence too much to reflect Yates' ADHD, autism, depressive disorder and traumatic upbringing.

She said: "There was very significant use of force against a six-month-old baby which resulted in catastrophic injury."

Rachel Hedworth, for Yates, said the sentencing judge had rightly reduced the sentence to reflect his mental disorder.

She said Yates had only discovered he was a father through a paternity test after the baby's birth, but had "put himself in the ring" to be the sole carer of the boy.

She said the baby was given to him despite authorities being aware he had been "self-medicating" with alcohol for "over half his life".

Hedworth said despite his family highlighting these "red flags", he received "very little" assistance from professionals.

She said: "Had his behaviour and his care of that child been monitored at a much earlier stage, then perhaps with some more advice and guidance he may have been helped."

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