A FATHER is today awaiting sentence for child assault after his youngster became one of the youngest ever witnesses at York Crown Court.

The child, who is too young to go to school, had to be formally questioned and cross-examined because the father denied that he was responsible for an injury to the youngster.

The mother told the jury the child mimed to her being grabbed by the hand to the neck and told her: “Daddy did it, Daddy hurt me.”

When he gave evidence the father claimed that the injury was a rash caused during showering and accused the mother of telling the youngster what to say.

The man denied a charge of actual bodily harm but was convicted by the jury.

He will be sentenced in August and is not being named to protect the child’s identity.

Consultant paediatrician Joanne Mannion, of York Hospital, examined the child two days after the mother noticed the injury.

She said it had been made with “some direct pressure” that had been “more than a light touch".

She said it was not a rash or mark caused as suggested by the father and the child had told her: “Daddy grabbed me.”

The child gave evidence through a procedure introduced in recent months at York Crown Court to make the court ordeal easier for young people.

When the youngster told police what had happened, the interview was recorded.

A second video was then made of the child being cross-examined weeks before the trial began with the judge and both barristers present.

Both videos were shown to the jury as the child’s evidence.