A man convicted of the manslaughter death of a six-month-old boy has been sentenced to four years and nine months in prison.
Jie William Smith appeared in Newcastle Supreme Court as Justice Helen Wilson delivered the sentence.
He received a non-parole period of three years and six months.
A two-week trial in July heard the child was in the sole custody of Smith when the infant went into cardiac arrest at a New Lambton home in February 2019.
The baby died from a traumatic brain injury.
The court heard Smith had been in a relationship with the baby's mother at the time.
Defence barrister Paul Rosser KC told the trial while his client did drop the baby, the boy's injuries were inflicted by the mother hours earlier.
That was disputed by prosecutor Neil Adams SC.
The court heard Smith told police he dropped the baby when it was unsettled and feeding.
In handing down today's sentence, Justice Helen Wilson said the baby was vulnerable and the full circumstances will never be known.
"What can be said is during his brief life [the baby] was exposed to danger and danger found him," she said.
"It should distress us all that a child can die so violently, and that the community can be ignorant to the nature of the violence."
Justice Wilson said while Smith had shown genuine remorse, his lack of action should be emphasised.
"As a six-month-old pre-verbal baby, [the child] was completely dependent on the offender to get assistance for him," she said.
"He failed to do that and that failure was a grievous one."
With time already served, Smith will be eligible for release in February next year.
