The father of a Canberra baby who was so dehydrated he could not cry tears or produce saliva when discovered by authorities were sentenced on Friday to six months behind bars.
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The child's mother avoided time behind bars and received a sentence of nine months imprisonment fully suspended, after the judge found she was less morally culpable for the neglect.
The court heard the woman, 23, had been mentally and physically unwell during much of the child's first year, including with severe morning sickness on becoming pregnant with a second child.
She had left most of the care to her husband, who Justice John Burns found was much more morally culpable, because the only apparent reason for his neglect of the baby was his use of cannabis.
The father, 35, will serve five months in the Alexander Maconochie Centre, with the rest of his 15 month jail term suspended.
Child protection services took emergency action on Christmas Eve in 2015 and removed the one-year-old boy from his parents in Higgins.
The parents, who cannot be named because of a court order, later pleaded guilty in the ACT Supreme Court to causing grievous bodily harm by negligent or unlawful act or omission.
It is understood to be the first case in Canberra where neglect has caused a child grievous bodily harm.
The court heard that the parents were identified as needing more help and referred to a parent enhancement program.
But they later disengaged from the course, and the child missed his four and six monthly shots.
He was consistently not supplied with proper food and hydration, his emotional and physical development was "grossly neglected" and the care given to him "grossly deficient".
After he was taken by authorities in 2015, the boy was taken to hospital where he showed no emotion and smelled, though he appeared clean.
He had dry skin on his arms, trunk and legs, and active, thickened dermatitis to his knees, toes and the back of his head.
He had an ulcer on the roof of his mouth and poor body tone, could not sit unsupported and had difficulty putting weight on his legs.
The boy's physical and mental development was delayed.
He could roll from back to front but was still developing his roll from front to back.
He was unable to crawl or push himself forward on his stomach.
When offered formula milk he drank two bottles "voraciously".
He weighed 5.83kg, significantly underweight where the average for a 10-month-old boy, age adjusted for prematurity, is more than 9kgs.
He was unable to produce saliva and tears due to his dehydration.
At the sentencing on Friday, the court heard the mother had made efforts to rehabilitate herself and learn more about parenting.
She had stopped using cannabis and wanted to have her children returned to her care.
The court heard that the father had stopped using cannabis too.
