Australian mother who savagely battered 2-year-old daughter until she resembled a 'car crash victim' imprisoned

A court in South Australia has jailed a 22-year-old woman for three years after she was found guilty of brutally beating up her two-year-old daughter. As a result of a series of attacks on the child that took place in 2013 in Adelaide, the mother – who was 17-years-old at the time – had left the toddler with internal bleeding, broken bones and a lacerated liver.

Judge Jack Costello said the "forceful blows" inflicted on the daughter were more typical of those borne in a serious accident. "Such extensive internal injuries are usually only seen in children involved in serious car crashes, falls from great heights or kicked by a horse," he said in his verdict in April.

In his sentencing on 12 August, Costello stated that while the woman, has matured since the incidents, she had shown no remorse for her actions. "I remain guarded about your prospect of rehabilitation due to your downplaying of your offending," he told the mother adding, "Your offending is just too serious."

The young woman broke down while in court, and referred to her actions as "appalling" and "deserving of the utmost condemnation". She will be allowed to apply for parole after nearly two years.

According to court documents, the two-year-old was so badly injured that she was a few days from death when her grandparents took her to the hospital in an unconscious state.

The guilty woman's boyfriend at the time was also found guilty of criminal neglect for not seeking medical attention for the toddler. He was given a suspended 15-month jail sentence and a three-year good behaviour bond. "Like your co-accused, you appear to have exhibited little or no remorse for your offending. I regard your inaction as nothing more than a callous disregard for her care," the judge told the woman's former partner.