Overview

• Judge Jonathan Salmon is set to sum up evidence before jurors consider verdict in charges including assault occasioning actual bodily harm and cruelty to a person under 16
• Prosecutors allege the defendant pushed the boy’s face into hot sausage, mash and beans, causing burns on his nose and cheek consistent with intentional harm
• A paediatrician at Worcestershire Royal Hospital testified to separate burn marks and body bruises while court documents detail alleged flicking, pinching and neck-grabbing
• The defendant maintains that he waited for the meal to cool and that any injury was accidental, pleading not guilty to all charges
• Jurors must now determine whether the evidence supports a finding of deliberate assault or an unintended incident