Childminder jailed for attacking two 'defenceless' baby girls while parents were out

A childminder who attacked and seriously injured two baby girls has been jailed for 16 years.

Anouska Coleman, 37, from Romford in north east London, assaulted the two babies - a nine-month-old and a seven-month-old – while looking after them while their parents were out.

The cases came to light after Coleman called 999 in March 2015, saying the seven-month-old baby had become unresponsive.

The little girl was rushed to Great Ormond Street Hospital where doctors discovered she had suffered a bleed on the brain, most likely as a result of trauma shortly before the emergency call.

Medics did not know what exactly caused the injury but said it was likely to have involved “an impact or impact with shaking”.

After Coleman was charged, detectives linked her to a previous case just five months earlier during which a nine-month-baby girl suffered a broken leg while in her care.

She wasn’t prosecuted at the time because of insufficient evidence.

Coleman, of Lancing Road, was found guilty of two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent following a trial at Basildon Crown Court. She was sentenced to a total of 16 years in jail on Friday.

DC Keith Paterson, of the Met’s child abuse unit, said: “The parents of these two baby girls put their trust in Coleman to look after them and she abused that trust in the most awful way.

“The lives of the girls and their families have been hugely impacted and the girls will carry the scars of the injuries they have sustained at Coleman’s hands through the rest of their lives.

“We may never really know how or why Coleman injured these defenceless babies, but ultimately she caused their injuries and must now face the consequences of her actions.

“I only hope that today’s sentence can give a small measure of comfort to the families knowing that Coleman has been brought to justice for her terrible actions.”

The Met said it has co-operated fully with the Serious Case Review process – which investigates whether the relevant authorities worked together to protect a child or vulnerable person.

The review’s findings will be published by Havering Safeguarding Children Board on Monday, 18 December.