CANADA • Renee, 9 months old / Convicted: Mark Christopher Nickel (father) ~ Calgary AB

Father gets 90 days for scalding baby

Calling him an immature, unsophisticated father, a judge has sentenced Mark Christopher Nickel, formerly of Calgary, to 90 days in jail on weekends for placing his baby's feet in a pot of hot water last year.

"I must not allow the unfortunate facts and explicit photos to inflame passion beyond reason," provincial court Judge John Bascom said on Thursday in sentencing Nickel, 22, who now lives in Sundre and works as a plumbing and heating apprentice.

Bascom sentenced the man to 75 days for aggravated assault and 15 days consecutive for failing to provide the necessities of life. Nickel had pleaded guilty to both charges.

According to an agreed statement of facts entered as an exhibit, Nickel dipped his nine-month-old daughter's feet in a pot of water that had earlier been boiled to sterilize baby bottles "just because he wanted to see her reaction."

Crown prosecutor Jayme Williams had sought a jail sentence of 12 to 15 months, but Bascom instead went with defence lawyer Mitch Stephensen's pitch for the 90-day term.

The judge agreed with Stephensen's application to have his client serve his time on weekends at Red Deer, which is closer to his new home.

According to the court document, Nickel was left to care for the girl when his common-law spouse, the girl's mother, left the family's northeast home that evening.

"Nickel was playing with (the baby) and decided he wanted to see her reaction to having her feet placed in hot water," according to the admitted facts.

He did not test the water before dipping the tot's feet in the scalding liquid, court heard, and noticed immediately upon placing the baby's feet in the water that it was very hot. He decided to put her slippers on in an effort to cover the redness.

Crystalyn Mangum returned home about an hour later and noticed that the infant was in distress. When Nickel and Mangum removed the slippers, the girl's feet were blistering. One of the slippers was already filled with blood and other fluid.

The young father did not tell the mother what he had done. He suggested the girl may have friction burns on her feet from being wrapped tightly in a blanket.

The following day, the mother phoned her doctor to make an appointment, but was not given one until two weeks later.

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Crown argues baby-scalding sentence similar to 'an animal, not a baby'
October 26, 2011

A Calgary prosecutor appealing the 90-day sentence of a man who badly scalded his baby's feet said Wednesday the courts must deliver a stronger message about serious child abuse by people in trust.

Crown prosecutor Jolaine Antonio told the Alberta Court of Appeal that the four-year sentences typical for a major sexual assault on a child should also apply to cases of serious bodily, emotional or psychological harm.

"He got 90 days intermittent time," Antonio said. "This is what you get for doing this to an animal, not a baby."

Antonio is seeking a four- to five-year sentence for Mark Christopher Nickel, 22, who at trial in February was sentenced to 90 days in jail, mostly to be served on weekends.

According to an agreed-upon statement of facts, he had dipped his nine-month-old daughter's feet into a pot of water that had earlier been boiled to sterilize baby bottles "just because he wanted to see her reaction." For the four days that followed, Nickel persuaded the girl's mother not to take their daughter to the doctor, despite the blood and other fluids that seeped from her blistered feet.

Nickel was given 75 days for aggravated assault and 15 days consecutive by provincial court Judge John Bascom for failing to provide the necessities of life to his infant daughter. Nickel had pleaded guilty to both charges.

"Nine-month-old Renee suffered third-degree burns because he wanted to see her reaction," Antonio told the rarely used five-justice panel. "He kept her at home for four days and it was not he, but his common-law spouse (the girl's mother), who finally took the child to hospital.

"Sentences must denounce and deter" said Antonio. "Harm to the child must be addressed."

Defence lawyer Mitch Stephensen said there is nothing wrong with the court providing guidance for child abuse cases, but added, "that doesn't mean the sentencing judge in this case made an error or there should be an increased sentence.

"Yes, my client intended to put the baby's feet in the water, but did not intend the harm. We maintained that through sentencing," said Stephensen. "Definitely, recently boiled water is going to be hot . . . but he disputes he ever intended harm. He was playing and wanted a reaction but didn't realize it was so hot."

According to court documents, Nickel was left to care for the girl when his common-law spouse, the girl's mother, left the family's northeast home that evening.

Nickel did not test the water before dipping the tot's feet in the scalding liquid and noticed immediately upon placing the baby's feet in the water that it was very hot.

He decided to put her slippers on in an effort to cover the redness.

The girl's mother, Crystalyn Mangum, returned home about an hour later and noticed that the infant was in distress. When Nickel and Mangum removed the slippers, the girl's feet were blistering. One of the slippers was already filled with blood and other fluid.

The young father did not tell the mother what he had done. He suggested the girl may have friction burns on her feet from being wrapped tightly in a blanket.

The following day, the mother phoned her doctor to make an appointment, but was not given one until two weeks later.

Over the next three days, Nickel persuaded the mother not to take the girl to the doctor. Mangum then emailed pictures of the baby's feet to her mother in the United States.

The following day, she took the girl to her doctor and was immediately referred to the Alberta Children's Hospital.

Bascom called Nickel "an immature, unsophisticated father."

"I must not allow the unfortunate facts and explicit photos to inflame passion beyond reason," Bascom said in sentencing Nickel, who now lives in Sundre, Alta., and works as a plumbing and heating apprentice.

He and his common-law spouse are still together, said Stephensen, but the child is in care of another family and they have no access to her.

Crown prosecutor Jayme Williams had sought a jail sentence of 12 to 15 months, but Bascom instead went with Stephensen's proposal for the 90-day term.

Bascom also placed Nickel on probation for two years, during which time he was ordered to take counselling for parenting skills, psychological or psychiatric assessment and any other counselling deemed necessary.

Although alcohol and drugs were not factors in the incident, said the judge, he prohibited him from possessing or consuming them.

The appellate court reserved its decision.

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Crown+argues+baby+scalding+sentence+similar+animal+baby/5611725/story.html

The father's sentence is pathetic. What kind of justice is this? The judge should be ashamed of himself. I hope they don't let this animal around children again.

Parents who badly abuse their children must be treated harshly by the courts, a prosecutor said Wednesday in asking the Court of Appeal to set a guideline standard in such cases.

Crown lawyer Jolaine Antonio told a special five-member appeal panel the 90-day-on-weekends sentence handed a Calgary dad for scalding his baby’s feet sends out the wrong message.

Antonio said a proper punishment for Mark Christopher Nickel would be a term in a federal penitentiary of four to five years.


Mark Christopher Nickel leaves the Courts building in Calgary
on October 26, 2011. (Photo by JIM WELLS/Calgary Sun)

She said prior child abuse cases considered by the province’s top court focused on the reason why children were injured by their parents, not the consequences of their actions.

In the past, a parent’s immaturity, or naivety have been considered mitigating factors in determining an appropriate punishment, Antonio said, in asking the appeal court to overturn its prior precedents.

“The focus in this area should be on harm to the child, not on the mechanism which caused the harm,” she said.

The prosecutor pointed to an animal abuse case, in which an offender dumped a cat in scalding water and received the same 90 days and two years probation given Nickel.

“He got 90 days intermittent — that’s what one gets for doing this to an animal, not a baby,” Antonio said.

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dumbass!