A former Championship footballer has been sentenced to 14 years in prison after leaving a two-year-old girl with severe brain damage as a result of a brutal attack.
Kiernan Hughes-Mason, 32, was found guilty of grievous bodily harm and child cruelty during a three-week trial at Basildon Crown Court.
The child, now requiring round-the-clock care, was left with the injuries after the attack in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, in January 2020.
During his sentencing on Tuesday, the child’s mother wept uncontrollably in court, recounting the struggles her daughter faces. She explained that her daughter is unable to walk, crawl, or move her lower body. She lacks strength in her arms, is fed through a tube, and suffers from epilepsy.
“She’s no longer the little girl who would dance around the living room,” the girl’s mother told the court.
During a 15-year career, Hughes-Mason started off at Millwall and later played for the social media team Hashtag United.
He had also played for clubs around the country, including Leatherhead, Kettering, and Saffron Walden, and also had a spell in New Zealand.
He was appointed Enfield Borough FC manager at the end of last season – a position from which he has now been sacked.
At Hughes-Mason’s trial, prosecutors said the girl’s injuries were similar to those inflicted by “a fall from several storeys”.
Hughes-Mason called paramedics to tell them the child was injured, claiming at first that she had fallen over, and was conscious but unresponsive.
Paramedics took her to hospital and she was put into an induced coma, and then taken on to Great Ormond Street Hospital.
She remained in a coma for 14 days and suffered life-changing brain injuries.
After Hughes-Mason’s sentencing, the NSPCC children’s charity condemned 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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