Prominent sportsman trial: Radiologist describes ‘grating’ sound of infant’s broken ribs

The trial of a prominent sportsman accused of injuring an infant resumed in the Dunedin District Court today, entering its second week.

The defendant, who has interim name suppression, has pleaded not guilty to injuring with reckless disregard and assault, relating to a single incident alleged to have occurred on July 16, 2023.

The Crown has alleged the infant’s 13 rib fractures were caused when the defendant applied a “crushing force” to the child’s torso.

Prosecutors say the injuries could only have been inflicted recklessly by “deliberately applied force”.

On Monday, paediatric radiologist Dr Susan Craw, who has worked in the field for more than 40 years, told the court the infant presented not with visible fractures, but with “this funny, crackly feeling in its chest”.

“If you put your fingers on [the infant’s] chest you could feel this funny crackling feeling, or noise,” she said.

During an ultrasound, it was “particularly apparent” the crackling was the “grating ends” of broken ribs as the child breathed and moved.

Craw outlined the series of scans and X-rays performed on the infant, and said the injuries “don’t occur in normal handling of a child”.

Craw said throughout her career she had not seen or heard of these types of injuries occurring during the process of these examinations, and was not aware of it in medical literature.

Earlier, CIB Constable Bo Kim said he interviewed the defendant on July 25, shortly after the child’s hospitalisation.

Kim read the defendant’s statement to the court.

Kim said the defendant said he had been home alone with the infant on the morning of July 16 while the child’s mother went to the gym.

About 20 minutes later the baby awoke “cranky” and refused a bottle.

He described placing the infant back in the bassinet after various attempts to settle the baby, and phoned the infant’s mother.

Days later, when told of the extent of the injuries, he recalled being “confused” and not understanding how they could have occurred.

Kim told defence counsel Anne Stevens KC he did not advise the defendant of his right to a lawyer or read him his Bill of Rights before taking the statement, as it was still “a very early stage” of the investigation and the defendant was being treated as a witness.

He said the defendant’s statement was given voluntarily, and the defendant was compliant throughout.

The trial, scheduled to last up to three weeks, continues before Judge David Robinson and a jury of 12.

Ben Tomsett is a multimedia journalist based in Dunedin. He joined the Herald in 2023.