Court of Appeal increases jail term for Sussex father who fatally shook baby son

A father jailed for manslaughter after fatally shaking his four-week-old son has had his sentence increased at the Court of Appeal.

Matthew Banks, then 34, was jailed for three years and eight months in October 2022 after admitting causing the death of Leo Banks.

Winchester Crown Court previously heard Banks had "forcefully" shaken his son in December 2017, causing a "constellation of serious injuries" before his death 26 months later.

Banks' sentence was referred to the Court of Appeal under the unduly lenient sentence scheme by the Solicitor General, who claimed his prison term was too low. On Thursday, judges at the Court of Appeal in London increased Banks' sentence to five years and four months.

Tom Little KC, for the Solicitor General, told the hearing: "This was a forceful shaking of a four-week-old baby by his father. A forceful shaking of a four-week-old baby involves an unlawful act which carried a high risk of really serious harm which ought to have been obvious to the offender.

"That is a conclusion that the judge should have been driven to by those facts."

The court was told Banks, previously from Chichester, West Sussex, had shaken Leo during the night while the boy's mother slept, later claiming the baby had been crying "hysterically".

Mr Little said the relationship between Banks and Leo should be taken into account as aggravating his crime.

"The aggravating features here outweigh the mitigating features rather than the converse," the barrister said. The fact that it was the father should count," he concluded.

Rebecca Upton, for Banks - who attended the hearing via videolink from HMP Dartmoor - said the sentencing judge was right to give the sentence she did.

She said: "The exercise of the judgment by Mrs Justice Cutts should not be interfered with. The tragic facts of this case were fully considered and reflected by her. This is a case where the prosecution in the court below set out fully the facts of this case in detail in two notes, and their submission with regard to both categorisation and the aggravating and mitigating features."

Ms Upton highlighted the delays Banks had faced, noting there were two years between the incident and Leo's death and a further two years before he faced criminal proceedings.

"Leo had died two years before he was asked to attend court," adding this was "significant mitigation".

Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Cotter and Sir Nigel Davis, said part of Leo's life had been "blighted" by the injuries Banks had caused.

"The injuries inflicted by the offender resulted in a period of more than two years where Leo was seriously ill and was in and out of hospital," he said.

Lord Justice Holroyde said Banks' sentence "was not only lenient but unduly so".

He continued: "We accept that there were a number of mitigating factors... but with respect to the judge, we cannot agree these factors outweighed the serious aggravating features."

Banks will now be required to serve two-thirds of his sentence before being released on licence.

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