By Melissa Meehan
A man found guilty of the bashing murder of a toddler after moving in with the boy’s mother has been jailed for 32 years.
Brendan Pallant, 37, faced a month-long trial in Victoria’s Supreme Court last year after he pleaded not guilty to the 2019 murder.
Brendan Pallant, pictured last year, has been jailed for the murder of a toddler.Credit: James Ross
On Monday, he was sentenced to 32 years’ imprisonment with a non-parole period of 25 years.
Jaidyn Gomes-Sebastiao, affectionately known as Snuffles, was just two years old when he died on September 2, 2019.
Pallant moved in with Jaidyn’s mother, Stacie Saggers, 26 days before the child was found dead from head injuries in his bedroom at their home in Langwarrin, about 42 kilometres south-east of Melbourne’s CBD.
Saggers has four children and lived with the two youngest in Langwarrin when she was introduced to Pallant by a friend in August 2019. The pair moved in together within days.
Jaidyn Gomes-Sebastiao died in September 2019 while being babysat by his mother’s boyfriend.
At the time, she was still mourning the death of her partner in a motorcycle crash nine months earlier.
At trial, the court heard that on September 2, 2019, Saggers put Jaidyn to sleep at noon and went to a cleaning job, leaving Pallant to babysit the toddler and his older brother.
When she returned home, the couple went for a nap in their room.
Pallant told police he went to check on Jaidyn about 4pm and found him lying on his bedroom floor with an activity table on top of him. He said he scooped him up and laid him on the lounge room floor before performing CPR.
Stacie Saggers and her son, Jaidyn.Credit: Facebook
Saggers became hysterical, emergency services were called and a neighbour rushed over to help.
Jaidyn was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics due to injuries to his brain and skull. His body was covered in dozens of bruises and scratches.
Prosecutor Mark Gibson, KC, said Pallant killed Jaidyn with a metal-framed timber table after a “short but profound period of loss of control, frustration and anger”.
Justice Jane Dixon said the 32-year sentence was higher than the standard punishment for murder, which usually sits around 25 years.
“The fact that the victim was a young and vulnerable child is a significant aggravating factor,” Dixon told the court.
“The life of an infant or a young child is especially precious because children are so vulnerable and defenceless.
Outside court, the boy’s mother told reporters she and her family were “ecstatic” with “32 years of justice for Jaidyn”.
“The ordinary natural instinct of any decent human being is to feel tenderness and protectiveness ... the offender’s culpability in this case is of a high order.”
With time served, Pallant could be eligible for parole by 2044.
He faced two trials. The first jury, in August 2022, could not reach a verdict, but the second jury found Pallant guilty of murder a year ago.
AAP
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