A depraved paedophile who deliberately used the dating app Tinder to seek out a new mother in order to sexually abuse her infant son has been sentenced to life in prison.
A Predator's Calculated Hunt on a Dating App
Christopher Phillips, 34, was actively searching for a baby when he created a profile on the popular dating platform. His sinister plan led him to the mother of a newborn boy, referred to in court only as Baby C, after he saw a photograph of her holding her child.
The court at Swansea Crown Court heard how Phillips, from Burton in Pembrokeshire, quickly identified the woman's vulnerabilities and cynically exploited them. His sole aim was to gain unfettered and unsupervised access to the defenceless infant for his own twisted gratification.
Horrific Injuries and a Family's Anguish
The baby's ordeal came to light in the early hours of 24 January 2021, when he was rushed by ambulance to Glangwili Hospital with suspected non-accidental injuries. A subsequent medical examination revealed the sheer brutality of the attacks.
Baby C was found to have suffered a catalogue of severe injuries, including a fractured skull, a bleed on the brain, six broken ribs, and fractures to his ankle and wrist. The extent of the harm was so severe that it was likened to injuries a child might sustain from being hit by a bus.
Reading a victim impact statement to the court, the baby's grandmother expressed the family's devastation, stating it had "brought absolute horror and devastation to the family".
Justice Served After a 'Most Distressing' Case
Last month, a jury found Phillips guilty of a series of horrific crimes against the baby. He was convicted of two counts of sexual assault by penetration, causing actual bodily harm, and two offences of causing grievous bodily harm with intent. He was cleared of two further GBH charges.
The baby's mother was found not guilty of all charges she faced, namely allowing her child to suffer serious physical harm and child neglect.
On Friday, Judge Paul Thomas KC handed down a life sentence, ordering that Phillips must serve a minimum of 16 years and 25 days behind bars before being considered for parole. The judge, with four decades of experience on the bench, described the case as the most distressing he had ever presided over.
This chilling case highlights the extreme dangers predators can pose, even on platforms designed for social connection, and the lifelong consequences of such abhorrent crimes.
