A five-day-old baby girl was punched in the face by a man and was punished only to pay a fine. The grandparents of the baby believed that the man deserves more.
BBC reported that the incident took place at a supermarket, specifically a Tesco store, in Baguley back in September. The man was identified as 63-year-old David Hardy. He claimed that he thought the baby was a doll and denied the assault noting that it was a "dreadful mistake." Fortunately, the baby did not suffer serious injuries from the attack and only had a red mark on her face.
Hardy was ordered to pay £900 for fines, £500 for costs and £100 for compensation, which is around $1800 in the United States. The baby was identified as Elsie Rose and was in a car seat that was placed in a shopping trolley that was next to her older sister. It was Elsie Rose's first trip outside of her home with her family.
According to reports, the mother of Elsie Rose, Amy Ducker, bumped into a neighbor who worked at the supermarket. The neighbor then talked to them and called the wife of Hardy to look at Elsie Rose, who was regarded as a beautiful baby. Hardy reportedly approached and punched the baby. The baby was subsequently taken to a hospital and was monitored overnight. She has been released after.
Hardy noted that he thought the baby was a doll and belonged to the older sister of Elsie Rose. He also said that he was messing around to try and lighten the mood. He said that the older sister of Elsie Rose looked like she was bored and asked if it was her baby.
The seven-year-old girl did not reply and then Hardy said, "I'm going to wake your baby up." He said that he did not punch the baby he thought was a doll and just tapped the infant, Manchester Evening News reported.
The grandparents of Elsie Rose, John and Linda Duckers, were in disbelief about the sentencing. They said that Hardy should have been given a custodial sentence. They regarded the sentencing as a joke and could not believe that such light sentence was given to Hardy.
