Midlothian crime: Care assistant violently shook nine-week-old child leaving him with shocking injuries

Jose Herreros, 26, attacked the nine-week-old child by seizing him on the body, lifting him up and repeatedly and forcibly shaking him at a house in Newtongrange, Midlothian.

Herreros left the baby boy with 11 fractured bones to his ribs and both legs during the horror incident which occurred between May 27 and 30, 2022.

Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told the boy has fortunately made a full recovery from his injuries.

Jose Herreros, 26, pictured outside Edinburgh Sheriff Court. | Alexander Lawrie

Herreros pleaded guilty to assaulting the child to his severe injury and danger of his life when appeared in the dock at the capital court on Thursday, November 28. A written narration was prepared by prosecutors in advance of the court hearing detailing the assault on the child.

Fiscal depute Matthew Miller said the part=time care assistant was left in charge of looking after the child while the baby’s mother was in hospital in May 2022.

A health worked visited the property on a routine check the following month and noticed the child had a bruise to his right cheek. The boy was taken to the capital’s Royal Hospital for Children for an assessment where bruises to his cheek and his nose were found.

Medics subsequently carried out two “skeletal surveys” on the child and further injuries were discovered including three fractured ribs and four fractures to each of the child’s legs.

The court was told there was “no plausible medical explanation” for the injuries and “it was determined that there had been abusive behaviour” towards the child.

Doctors were said to have concluded the injures to the baby “were abusive and he needed protection from ongoing and significant harm”. It was determined the child had suffered the injuries after being “gripped tightly and shaken” and could have been caused over “a very short period of 30 seconds”.

The young victim was taken into the emergency care of a foster family and Herreros later contacted police and social services to admit what he had done.

Herreros, from Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, was said to have sent an email to the investigating police officers on June 28, 2022

.In the message he stated: “Can you come and interview me, I think I did the ribs. I have shaken [the child] once and after hearing it was a shake I think it was me. It was ages ago but please come.”

He also told officers during an interview: “I swear on [the child’s] life it wasn’t that hard.”

Sheriff Christopher Dickson released Herreros on bail and deferred sentence for the preparation of social work reports to January next year.