Girl lied about dead baby abuse

A teenager who said she saw a man attacking a baby who later died has admitted lying to protect her lover, the Old Bailey has heard.

The 17-month-old boy died in August 2007 after suffering a catalogue of injuries, including a broken back.

His mother, 27, her boyfriend, 32, and Jason Owen, 36, from Bromley, south-east London, deny murdering the infant.

The girl, who cannot be named, told the court via videolink she had told a "number of lies" to protect Mr Owen.

A court order prevents the identification of the baby's mother and her boyfriend.

Lied for justice

The teenager made the confession while being questioned about the relationship she had had with Mr Owen in August last year, when she was 15.

The girl said in video-recorded statements to police she lied when telling them she had seen the baby being hurt by his mother's boyfriend.

She described seeing him squeeze the baby so tight that he stopped breathing, grab him by the throat and hold his head down on the floor and swing him by his legs.

On Thursday she told the court she had "lied to get justice" for the murdered baby.

Loved him

When cross-examined by the 32-year-old man's barrister, Bernard Richmond, QC, the girl said she loved Mr Owen and "would do anything to protect him, including lying for him".

The court has been told the toddler was tortured when the girl, who had run away from her home, and Mr Owen lived in a house in Haringey, north London.

During the trial jurors heard the boy's injuries showed he may have been attacked by a Rottweiler dog kept by his mother's boyfriend.

The child had been on the local Child Protection Register since December 2006, the court has heard.

The trial continues.