This is Exeter -- The jury have been discharged from reaching a verdict in the case of a man accused of injuring a 21-month-old baby girl at her mother's home in Newton Abbot. Liam Bray will now have to wait to discover whether he will face a retrial over the allegations, which date back to June 2011. He was ruled to be unfit to plead at the start of the week long trial which carried on even though he was not able to give evidence in his own defence. The jury were unable to reach either unanimous or majority verdicts after being in retirement at Exeter Crown Court for more than two days. Judge Phillip Wassall discharged them and gave prosecutor Miss Mary McCarthy time to consult the Crown Prosecution Service on whether there will be a retrial. At the start of the case Judge Phillip Wassall told the jury that the case is highly unusual because he has already ruled that Bray is unfit to plead after hearing evidence from two psychiatrists. Bray, aged 21, of Washington Close, Paignton, denied child cruelty against the baby on June 1, 2011. During the case the child's mother told how she found injuries to the girl's private parts when she changed the nappy after returning home from a short visit to the doctor. She had left the baby in the sole charge of Bray whose last contact with her had been a text saying he was about to bathe her. Miss Mary McCarthy, prosecuting, said Bray had been in a relationship with the baby's mother for seven months and stayed at her home occasionally, helping with child care on occasions. On the morning in question she had a doctor's appointment and left her flat in Newton Abbot with both the baby and Bray asleep and having asked him to look after the girl. She received texts while she was out telling her he was giving the child breakfast and was about to bathe her but when she got home around noon she found both her daughter and Bray asleep. The child had a soiled nappy but when she went to change it she saw blood and bruising. She took the baby to her doctor despite pleas from Bray not to and was referred to hospital and a sexual abuse clinic. Mr Lee Bremridge, defending, said there was no direct evidence that Bray was responsible for the injuries and urged the jury to be extremely cautious because of his inability to defend himself against the allegations.
Reported by This is 6 hours ago.
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