Australian baby-torturer gets only 16 months

A father of nine will spend about 16 months in jail and his wife was given a six-month suspended sentence for assaulting and neglecting their threeyear-old son, leaving him physically scarred, malnourished and developmentally retarded. David Jason Ogier, 38, admitted burning the small boy with a cigarette lighter, pulling off a fingernail with pliers, rubbing chilli power on his back until it blistered, kicking him with steel-cap boots and slapping his head repeatedly. The offences took place in Cranbrook between October 2005 and January last year.

Belinda Marie Ogier, 33, admitted failing to protect her son, denying him food, letting him get seriously sunburnt, leaving him unsupervised near a swimming pool causing him to nearly drown and failing to seek medical assistance when required. They also pleaded guilty to breaching a 12-month community based order imposed just a month earlier for assaulting another son, aged 11, who was almost choked, slapped and punched in the head so hard his ears bled.

Police prosecutor Sgt Dave Murphy told Narrogin Magistrate's Court yesterday that Mr Ogier had shown no empathy, little remorse and appeared indifferent to the welfare of his children. "These are seen as despicable acts," he said.

Defence lawyer Shane Rebbeck said Mr Ogier had suffered similar violence from his father, including having his arm nearly broken and seeing his sister belted so hard blood was splattered on a wall. A degenerative hip disease caused him a lot of pain, reducing his tolerance levels and harming his relationship with his family. Mrs Ogier's lawyer, Arthur Paternoster, said she was saddened and ashamed by the events. She was having counselling and treatment for depression.

Magistrate Elizabeth Hamilton described the offences as a "gross breach of trust between a small child and his parents". Ms Hamilton said pre-sentence reports showed Mr Ogier had acted the same way as his father had towards him - providing them with everything materially but failing to give them a loving and safe home. She jailed Mr Ogier for a total of 31 months backdated to February 15 when he was taken into in custody and made him eligible for parole. She also fined him $1800 for stealing offences.

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