A couple was found guilty of child abuse and cruelty after attempting to blame the paramedics for the broken bones their child had suffered.

23-year-old Naomi Johnson and 26-year-old Benjamin O’Shea were arrested over the death of 8-week-old baby girl Amina after paramedics were called to their home in Southwark, England.

Despite their best efforts, the paramedics could not resuscitate the child and it was later revealed that the girl had suffered more than sixty bones in her short life.

As the truth came out, the couple attempted to blame the child’s injuries – including 24 limb fractures and 41 rib fractures – on the paramedics who tried to save Amina’s life after she had stopped breathing.

Further investigation, however, revealed that the child was likely subjected to prolonged physical abuse and that some of her injuries were new while others already started healing on their own.

The couple was also charged with causing cruelty to another child, who remains unnamed, after the police reviewed the couple’s texts and saw them bragging about neglecting and slapping the child.

“This is a truly heart-breaking case that has touched all of us who have worked on bringing Johnson and O’Shea before the court for their monstrous crimes,” Detective Inspector Melanie Pressley said.

“The cruelty and callousness with which the pair discussed the treatment of the other child in this case is shocking. Children depend on adults and the children in this case were sorely betrayed by Johnson and O’Shea in the most tragic of ways.

“In eight weeks of life Amina suffered an unimaginable number of injuries. The trauma she endured in her short life is impossible to comprehend, her injuries are a catalogue of the most despicable abuse. Equally incomprehensible is how an adult can inflict such cruelty on defenseless, innocent children.”

She added: “Throughout our investigation we have been unable to establish how the baby died and Johnson and O’Shea have been steadfast in their refusal to answer our questions. They have sought to protect themselves in a way they clearly did not for the two children in this case.”

Now, the couple were found guilty of physical abuse of Amina and cruelty to the other child. While O’Shea was sentenced to 8 years and 8 months in prison, Johnson was jailed for 7 years and 2 months.

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