In 2019, the Offender Database reported that Adam Jendrzeczak and Aleksandra Kopinska, the Brighton Child Abusers, fractured 28 of a four-month-old infant’s bones, including those of the knees, ankles, ribs, and arms, resulting in both individuals receiving an eight-year prison sentence.
Adam Jendrzeczak, then 32, and his partner Aleksandra Kopinska, then 22, inflicted fractures to the knees, ankles, ribs and arm of an infant child in an apartment in Brighton.
The couple exacerbated the assault by concealing the child’s injuries from medical professionals for weeks, resulting in his ‘immense’ suffering.
They deceived physicians at the Royal Sussex County Hospital about the infant boy’s distress and the origins of his grievous injuries.
Today, at Hove Crown Court, Judge Christine Henson sentenced the duo, condemning them for exhibiting ‘wicked brutality against a vulnerable infant,’ as reported by The Argus.
Adam Jendrzeczak has a prior conviction for domestic violence in 2011, allegedly against his mother.
His relationship with Aleksandra Kopinska was characterised as ‘controlling’ and marked by ‘elevated levels of fury.’
The maltreatment was revealed in February 2017 when the youngster was admitted to the hospital with a fractured arm. The police apprehended the duo, who asserted that the toddler had stumbled over an elevated edge of the carpet.
Ryan Richter, prosecuting, explained: ‘It was then revealed he had further and extensive injuries, including 20 fractures to his ribs, fractures to both of his knees and both of his ankles.
Experts in paediatric medicine provided evidence of how the injuries could have been caused, describing a twisting motion and a crushing force.
They identified the fractures as being caused between four and six weeks before the child was presented to the hospital.
Police later revealed that the child isn’t expected to suffer long-term physical issues: ‘This case will resonate with everyone who hears of it and I am happy to report that the child is developing well, and is not restricted by the injuries he sustained at such a young age.’
Initially, Adam Jendrzeczak dismissed his barrister, insisting that sentencing should be delayed until his lawyer from Poland arrived.
But when the judge refused, the thug pleaded to be represented by court-appointed Brian Shaw – only for Mr Shaw to explain Adam Jendrzeczak had declined to talk to him before the hearing, so he could not act on his behalf.
The convicted abuser then argued he would be being ‘discriminated against’ for not having his own lawyer.
Judge Henson told him that he saw himself ‘as a victim’, adding that he had ‘complete disregard’ for the child and his injuries.
‘Those who had to deal with you, both neighbours and health professionals, found your demeanour to be aggressive and hostile.’
Aleksandra Kopinska, 22, from Hove, was described as ‘passive and subdued’, and did not engage with professionals when they asked if she had been the victim of domestic violence.
Mark Kessler, defending, said that experts found her to be ‘caring’ to health professionals but noted that she presented as ‘cowardly’.
The judge told her she had ‘continued to be unwilling to acknowledge the damage caused’ to the baby as a result of her behaviour.
Judge Henson concluded: ‘This was a gross abuse of trust. The baby had no abnormality or disease which could have led to these injuries.
‘They were non-accidental, they were deliberately caused and required significant force to inflict. They would have caused immense pain.’
He went on: ‘That pain would have been evident to both of you.
‘The injuries you caused were truly appalling and showed wicked cruelty towards a tiny baby, almost beyond belief.’
The pair were both jailed for eight years for assaulting or neglecting a child and causing unnecessary suffering, and for causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm.
Adam Jendrzeczak was given an extended sentence and must serve two-thirds of his prison sentence before he can be considered for parole.
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