A babysitter accused of breaking an infant's leg is attempting to pin the blame on his family, a prosecutor alleged in Supreme Court yesterday.

Senior Crown Counsel Carrington Mahoney also accused Betty Jean Steede of letting four-month-old L'Naiye Simmons suffer while she pretended not to know what was wrong with him.

According to the prosecution case, Steede, 51, inflicted the injury on the youngster at her home in Swansbay Hill, Pembroke, on the morning of Monday October 30 2006.

Mr. Mahoney has told the jury that Steede was reckless, at least, in causing the injury. The trial has also heard L'Naiye's mother, Laneh Simmons, claim that he was in good health prior to leaving him with the babysitter.

Steede called later that morning to say the child would not stop crying, and Ms Simmons discovered the injury when she went to pick him up.

She claims the babysitter asked whether L'Naiye had been in an accident over the weekend.

Steede denies a charge of causing L'Naiye grievous bodily harm, and has told the court she is not responsible for the leg fracture. However, she admits his foot got caught in his all-in-one baby outfit as she changed him.

"I twisted his little foot. His little foot got twisted in the onesie when I was trying to take it off," she told the jury, explaining the child cried.

Mr. Mahoney put it to her: "You agree with me that one has to be very rough to twist the foot of a baby and break it?"

Steede agreed.

"Would you describe such a person as being very careless?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied.

Quizzed by both Mr. Mahoney and Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves about why she did not mention this incident to Laneh Simmons when she came to pick L'Naiye up, Steede replied: "The onesie didn't even come into my mind".

"Because you knew what you did," stated Mr. Mahoney.

"No sir," replied the defendant.

He put it to her: "You knew what you had done to this child, yet you stood there and watched this child suffer while you pretend 'guess what happened to him'."

And he further suggested: "Realising what you had done you are even at this stage trying to cast the blame on this child's family, trying to give the impression that this child came to your home injured, when you knew that was not so."

Steede denied these allegations. Her uncle, Norris Steede, was called to the witness stand later yesterday to give evidence for the defence. He claimed he was at Steede's home when L'Naiye's mother left him, and the baby was "crying and crying". He told the jury he left the house because the noise was too loud for him to take.