Ex-footballer jailed for 'sickening' attack on girl

An ex-footballer who left a two-year-old girl with life-changing brain injuries has been jailed for 14 years.

Kiernan Hughes-Mason, 32, was caring for the toddler in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, when he inflicted injuries on her equivalent to a "high-speed crash" in January 2020.

The child's mother told Basildon Crown Court her daughter was "no longer the little girl who would dance around the living room".

Hughes-Mason, of Ramuz Drive in the town, was found guilty of child cruelty and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

He had been managing Enfield Borough Football Club before his conviction and had previously played for Millwall and YouTube side Hashtag United.

The child's mother told the trial: "He took her future away from her and the life she will never have."

The court heard Hughes-Mason had sent messages to friends stating the girl had been "getting on my nerves" and he was "gonna hit her" prior to the attack on 31 January 2020.

Doctors identified 17 injuries on her legs, back, face and chest that could have occurred between October 2019 and the day of the incident, the trial was told.

She remained in a coma for two weeks and suffered life-changing brain injuries that meant she would require 24-hour care.

Hughes-Mason had tried to claim to paramedics the girl had injured herself by falling on a doll's house.

"This little girl's life has been destroyed," Judge Ian Graham said.

"The injuries that she suffered were caused by vigorous shaking and by bringing her head into hard contact with a surface.

"She is almost completely reliant on others for all her needs. She cannot walk, crawl or move any of her lower body parts."

Hughes-Mason once played youth football for Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur before appearing twice for Millwall's first team in 2009 and 2010.

He later played for Aveley-based side Hashtag United, which gained popularity on YouTube, before managing its reserve side.

The club said his crimes were "frankly sickening" following his conviction in August.

Enfield Borough Football Club, who he later managed, sacked him from his role following the jury's guilty verdicts.

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