Cambridgeshire blackmailer jailed for punching toddler Published duration 12 February 2018

image copyright Cambridgeshire Police image caption Deividas Subacius was jailed for 17 years

A man who punched a toddler in the face in a bid to blackmail the child's grandparents has been jailed.

Deividas Subacius sent a video to the grandparents of himself hitting the 18-month-old girl demanding £130 or he would continue to hurt the child.

Subacius, 29, of Badgeney Road, March, Cambridgeshire, was jailed for 17 years after admitting actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm and blackmail.

Police said the girl had no "significant lasting injuries".

At Cambridge Crown Court on Friday, Judge Gareth Hawksworth extended Subacius's sentence from 13 years to 17 because of the seriousness of the crimes.

Det Con Clemie Yaxley, from Cambridgeshire Police, said: "This is the worst case of physical abuse in a child that I have had to deal with in my entire career.

"Had it not been for the grandparents acting in a protective manner the outcome would have been very different."

Subacius was arrested after the grandparents immediately alerted police, who seized his phone which contained the messages asking for £130.

An examination of the girl showed eight healed fractures, including to her femur, wrist, collarbone and ribs.