A VICIOUS thug is behind bars today after carrying out what doctors and police said was the worst assault on a child they had ever seen.

Byron Braybrook, of Maidenhall Approach, Ipswich, must serve at least eight years in jail for the attack on the 16-month-old girl, which was described as “beyond belief”.

Braybrook was locked up indefinitely by Judge Peter Fenn at Ipswich Crown Court, who told him what he had done had been “evil”.

The 21-year-old was said to have committed the assault out of jealousy and resentment.

Braybrook was found guilty in June of unlawfully wounding the baby and assault of a child by penetration. He was cleared of wounding the child with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, but admitted an offence of child cruelty.

During Braybrook’s sentencing it emerged that although he had made admissions to a probation officer, he had now retracted them and was considering an appeal against conviction.

However, Judge Fenn described the attack as an “evil act”.

He added that the fact Braybrook was capable of carrying out such a serious attack on a young baby had led him to treat him as a dangerous offender.

After the sentencing, Suffolk Constabulary’s Detective Inspector Tonya Antonis, responsible for the victim care centre in Ipswich, said: “This was a very traumatic case for everyone involved.

“The doctors and paediatrician were really quite horrified by the injuries this girl had sustained.

“Braybrook didn’t appear remorseful in any way. He just completely denied it and maintained the injuries had happened as a result of her going to the toilet.

“I would say these are the most serious injuries that I have known a child sustain in the 15 years I have worked in this field. I have never come across anything as serious and shocking as this before. It was just horrific.

“You have to ask the question – how can anybody inflict such an injury or do something like this to a small child? It is beyond belief.

“What we don’t know at this stage is whether there will be any lasting legacy physically or mentally to the child.

“We hope she will recover from what has happened to her.

“In such a serious case the police work closely with social services and health professionals and it has left an impact on us all.”

During Braybrook’s sentencing Judge Peter Fenn said that in an interview with a probation officer following his trial Braybrook admitted causing the child’s genital injuries with his fingers.

He had done so because he was “jealous and resentful” of her and wanted to cause her pain.

However, Joanne Eley, representing Braybrook, said her client was depressed when he made admissions to the probation officer and now wished to retract them.

She added that Braybrook was considering an appeal against his conviction, and described the offences as out of character and isolated.

During the trial in June the court heard that the child was taken by ambulance to Ipswich Hospital by ambulance after a GP became concerned about injuries to her genitals during a call-out to her home.

A consultant who examined her under a general anaesthetic found she had suffered “severe blunt trauma” injuries and described them as the most severe he had seen in the 18 years he had been a consultant.

Another doctor described the injuries as the worst she had seen in her 20 years’ experience.

Giving evidence during the trial Braybrook said he had noticed blood when he changed the baby’s nappy and denied injuring her in any way.