Parents of a 17-month-old baby girl went to court after her mother assaulted her father. Liverpool Crown Court found Sarah Martins-Quinn guilty of causing bodily harm to her ex-partner Oliver Morehan. The court heard details of the attack and handed Martins-Quinn an 18- month suspended sentence.

Martins-Quinn and Morehan had a short relationship during which the couple conceived a daughter. Since their split, the couple enjoyed shared custody of their baby girl. However, when Morehan refused to return their daughter to Martins-Quinn, she took the law into her own hands.

After having the baby in custody for over 24-hours, Morehan called his ex-partner to inform her that he will not be returning the baby to her. Morehan claimed that the mother had been making up illnesses that their daughter did not have. When Morehan refused to maintain their shared custody arrangement, Martins-Quinn decided to turn up at the St. Helens house of her former partner.

Liverpool Crown Court
Sarah Martins-Quinn was given a suspended sentence and rehab Getty

Morehan claimed that Martins-Quinn turned up at his house and loudly banged at the door. After banging and kicking the front door, the enraged mother went to the back of the house and let herself in.

Inside the house, things turned violent when Martins-Quinn tried to grab the baby from Morehan's father. The baby's grandfather had the child cradled in his arms. When Morehan came between his father and his ex-partner, she turned violent.

The Daily Star detailed the attack during which Martins-Quinn bit Morehan's forearm, punched him in the face, tried to hit his genitals with a mop and even bit off a part of his ear.

Morehan had informed the police that the mother of his child had been fabricating illnesses, so he was trying to prevent her from taking the baby. According to the Liverpool Echo, before Martins-Quinn attacked Morehan, he had already called the police.

When the police arrived, they found Martins-Quinn in the street screaming and boasting that she bit her ex-partner's ear off.

At court, Martins-Quinn accepted taking the law into her own hands, attacking her ex-partner, and feigning some of her daughter's illnesses. However, she still claimed that she did not bite Morehan's ear and that her daughter was lactose intolerant.

The Judge presiding over the case felt that the father had the child's best interests at heart. At the same time, he felt that there was a "realistic prospect of rehabilitation." Martins-Quinn received a suspended 18-month sentence as well as 20 days in rehabilitation. She has also been handed an indefinite restraining order preventing her from contacting Morehan.