A former Millwall player who beat a two-year-old girl so badly she was left with life-changing brain damage has been jailed for 14 years.
Kiernan Hughes-Mason, 32, was caring for the toddler in January 2020 when he attacked her with such ferocity the damage was deemed equivalent to ‘a high-speed road traffic accident’ or ‘a fall from a substantial height of several storeys’.
During his sentencing at Basildon Crown Court on Tuesday, the girl’s mother broke down as she described how her daughter cannot walk, crawl or move her lower body, and now requires round-the-clock care.
‘She’s no longer the little girl who would dance around the living room,’ the girl’s mother told the court, and said she now has no strength in her arms, is fed through a tube and suffers from epilepsy.
‘He took her future away from her and the life she will never have.’
Hughes-Mason, of Westcliff-on-Sea in Essex, was found guilty of child cruelty and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
The former footballer previously played for Millwall before later joining social media team Hashtag United.
He also had stints at various lower-league clubs including Leatherhead, Kettering and Saffron Walden, as well as a spell in New Zealand.
He was appointed Enfield Borough FC manager at the end of last season, which he was sacked from following his arrest.
Prior to the attack, the court heard Hughes-Mason had messaged friends telling them the girl had been ‘getting on my nerves’ and he was ‘gonna hit her’.
Doctors later identified 17 injuries on her legs, back, face and chest that could have occurred between October 2019 and January 31 2020, the day of the incident.
Hughes-Mason called paramedics following the attack and tried to claim the child’s injuries had occurred from her falling onto a doll’s house, and that she was conscious but unresponsive.
Paramedics took her to hospital and she was put into an induced coma for 14 days.
Delivering the verdict, Judge Ian Graham told Huges-Mason ‘This little girl’s life has been destroyed.
‘The injuries that she suffered were caused by vigorous shaking and by bringing her head into hard contact with a surface.
‘She is almost completely reliant on others for all her needs. She cannot walk, crawl or move any of her lower body parts.’
After Hughes-Mason’s sentencing, the NSPCC children’s charity condemning Hughes-Mason’s ‘brutal and cowardly attack on a defenceless toddler’.
A spokesman added: ‘Tragically the two-year-old girl subjected to this violent assault will never recover from her injuries – a young life devastated before it had barely got started.
‘It is difficult to understand what would drive a man to inflict so much harm on someone so vulnerable.
‘It is now vital that a detailed review into this shocking case gives thorough insight into whether anything could have been done to stop Hughes-Mason, and to try and provide better protection for children in the future.’
Det Sgt Ellie Nudd of Essex Police said: ‘Hughes-Mason lied to 999 call handlers, paramedics, police officers and hospital staff on the day of the incident, immediately trying to cover up his attack. He can only be described as a coward.
‘Most of all our thoughts are with an immensely brave girl and her family who have worked with us to make sure justice was done. Our county is a safer place now that Hughes-Mason is behind bars.’
She praised the victim’s family for their ‘incredible strength’ and thanked the ambulance service and the Crown Prosecution Service.
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