Gary Alclock, 28, of Manchester, England, was sentenced to life
in prison for the brutal beating death
his girlfriend's 15-month-old baby Violet Mullen -- for interrupting his video
game playing.
"In the three
weeks before her death you, Gary Alcock, subjected her to repeated violence,"
said Judge Clement Goldstone during the sentencing. "This was the way you
chose to cope with a demanding little girl who demanded your attention and
interrupted your time-consuming hobby of playing computer games."
According to London News
sources, Alcock repeatedly punched,
slapped and pinched young Violet for weeks before her death in his home. On the
day she died, she was found to have some 38 bruises on her body. Medical
records indicated that Violet also suffered fractured ribs and brain damage,
the judge said.
"You caused
injuries to her brain, face, arms and legs with a combination of punches, slaps
and, bordering on the sadistic, pinches," Goldstone said to Alcock.
It was a blow to
Violet's stomach that ultimately killed her, the judge said, which was so
powerful it tore her internal organs.
The abuse allegedly
occurred with the knowledge of the baby's mother, 22-year-old Claire Flanagan, who
dodged a murder charge and will spend five years in jail for causing or
allowing her daughter's death.
"You could have
sought medical help, you could have involved social services, you could have
asked him to leave," the judge told her. "But any of those options
would have put at risk your relationship, which you, at the time, priced far
more highly than your relationship and love for Violet."
Flanagan denies she knew
of any abuse.
"This has been a
difficult year," said Paul Taylor, Violet's biological father. "I
wish I got to know Violet, I wish I had that chance."
