A MAN who sexually assaulted an 11-month-old baby girl who also died in his care will make his bid for freedom in early May.
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Brendon Toohey, 40, was sentenced in 2017 to seven-and-a-half years' jail for manslaughter after the baby suffered critical injuries at her Mandurama home in April 2014.
And earlier this month he was sentenced to four years and six months' jail (three years non-parole) on a charge of sexual intercourse with a person under 10, under authority.
However, as the penalties were to be served concurrently, Toohey became eligible for parole the day after he was sentenced.
The State Parole Authority confirmed to the Western Advocate on Tuesday that it would consider Toohey's release to parole at a private meeting on May 3, 2019, a move that has shattered the baby's family.
Her paternal grandmother said the family could not believe Toohey was even eligible for parole.
"We are literally shaking our heads, we all are. It's something we just can't understand," she said.
The baby's father has previously described Toohey as "pure evil" who needs "to stay locked up". He said the fact Toohey is now applying for parole is weighing heavily on his mind.
"I just don't know how anyone who has done something as heinous as this can get out," he said. "How could he do it? I'll never understand. He's pure evil."
READ MORE: Man jailed over toddler's death at Mandurama
The little girl's father has also called on the Director of Public Prosecutions to appeal the sexual assault sentence, saying Toohey should be made to serve the maximum sentence available.
The charges against Toohey date back to April 2014 when the girl suffered critical injuries at her Mandurama home while in his care.
Toohey has always maintained that the baby girl suffered critical injuries when she fell from a trampoline and hit her head on the lid of a concrete septic tank as he was taking clothes off an outside washing line.
At 11am on April 2, 2014, Toohey arrived at the emergency department at Blayney Hospital and raised the alarm.
Nursing staff, who saw the child was clearly seriously ill, took the baby into a treatment room where, along with other medical staff, they performed extensive treatment on the child including CPR.
The treatment continued long enough for the child's mother to be brought to the hospital but the baby was declared dead at 12.40pm.
A subsequent post mortem examination revealed external abrasions to the child's head, three small areas of hemorrhage just below the scalp, bruising to the back of her head, three areas of subcutaneous hemorrhage and significant swelling to her brain.
The jury found the external head injuries suffered by the baby were the result of several separate applications of blunt force trauma inflicted on her by Toohey.
Toohey was found not guilty of murder by a 12-person jury in July 2017 but was then found guilty of the child's manslaughter.
