The killing of a five-month-old baby boy has proved that "violence begets violence'', the Coalition for the Protection of Children has claimed.

Coalition chairperson Sheelagh Cooper was speaking after Jermaine Pearman was jailed this week for 12 years along with his former girlfriend Sharina Anne Tuzo, who received six years, for the manslaughter of their godson, Saed Young.

The pair were jailed five years to the day that Paul Darrell killed his two-year-old son D'Shun.

Pearman's lawyer, Julian Hall, explained that his client, who brutally assaulted the baby, had been beaten by his step-father when he was a child and had learned to respond to problems through violence.

Pearman, 28, of Bob's Valley Lane, Sandys Parish, who was said to have an "anger management problem'', had previous convictions for having unlawful sex with girls under 16 and for failing to provide food and care for a dog.

Tuzo had denied manslaughter, but was found guilty of the crime by a jury who decided she was grossly negligent by failing to get medical attention for the baby in August 1997.

Ironically, Tuzo, who now has a seven-month-old son, hopes to become a paediatrician.

A pre-sentence report on Tuzo, 20, of Bob's Valley Lane, found that while she felt remorse for Saed's death, she felt no emotion about her own behaviour and lack of response to the circumstances leading to his death.

Mrs. Cooper said researchers in the US estimated that for every child killed, a further ten survive with physical and emotional scars.

She noted that defence counsel in the case had described these survivors as the "living dead'', and she claimed Pearman and Tuzo fitted that description.

"Their stories come as close to living proof of the adage that `violence begets violence' as I have ever seen,'' she said.

"If we learn nothing else from this baby's death, let it be our renewed commitment to nurturing and protecting not just our own children but the children of those around us.'' Mrs. Cooper claimed that with remission, Pearman could be a free man in five years with no strings attached to his parole.

"I sometimes wonder whether the judiciary are aware when they sentence people like Pearman just what it means in real terms,'' she continued.

"At the end of the day, it seems we cannot look to the legislation, the judges, the prisons or the bureaucrats to protect our children or to stop this horrific cycle of violence.

"We have to do it ourselves as a community. Our best Christmas gift to our children will be our pledge to love them and keep them safe and be ever vigilant in protecting those children who we see around us who are less fortunate than our own.'' Government last night strongly refuted a suggestion by Mrs. Cooper that bureaucrats were "dragging their feet'' over the implementation of the new Children's Act, which makes it law for professionals to report child abuse.

The bill was signed into law by Governor Thorold Masefield last year, but will not be fully operational until January 1, 2000.

Director of Child and Family Services Luelle Todd said the Act brought together six pieces of legislation and required considerable training.