A father from Douglas who beat his child has been handed a suspended sentence.

The teenager was hit with a belt and a slipper, had her head banged against a wall, and was forced to kneel and pray for hour long periods.

The father, who was said to be obsessed with religion, was also ordered to pay his daughter £750 compensation and fined £1,000.

A court order was made prohibiting anything from being published which may identify the child, as she is under 16, so we have not named the man.

Deputy High Bailiff Rachael Braidwood sentenced the father to eight months’ custody, suspended for two years, and also made him the subject of a two-year suspended sentence supervision order.

She told the defendant: ‘A child should be able to implicitly trust their parents.

‘You betrayed that trust she put in you.’

A victim impact statement was read out in court from the girl, in which she said that she had been scared that she would not be believed if she reported the abuse, but that it had been getting worse.

She said: ‘I struggle to understand what Dad did to me. I was confused as I hadn’t done anything wrong. I have nightmares now.’

The girl said that she had considered school her ‘safe place’ and had been terrified to go home, but currently had foster parents who she said cared about her.

The statement said: ‘I was annoyed people think my Dad is a nice person because of the way he presents himself. I know he isn’t.

‘I did love my Dad. It was only when he became more obsessed with religion that he changed.

‘I don’t know if I want to see him again in the future, things are too raw for me still.’

We previously reported that the child had been moved to foster carers after being assaulted on a number of occasions.

The first incident of abuse was said to have taken place on December 12 when the child was repeatedly hit with a pair of trousers as the father told her: ‘What have I done to deserve such a horrible daughter.’

On December 13, her father hit her on the arm with his fist then repeatedly banged her head against a wall saying: ‘You do not disobey me.’

On December 15, he went into the child’s room and found her listening to music that he did not approve of, so he began hitting her with an open palm, then a slipper and his belt.

She was then made to kneel and pray for over an hour until her knees were bruised and she was begging to stop.

On December 16, the child was again made to kneel and pray for more than an hour and threatened that she would be home-schooled.

A number of controlling messages were also found as he threatened to take her out of her school.

The girl was due to attend a Duke of Edinburgh award session but her father stopped her and verbally abused her.

She was also required to put her phone on a shelf as soon as she returned home.

She eventually reported the incidents after discussing them with her friend and her friend’s mother.

Another family member confirmed that the father would get angry and had hit his daughter.

He was arrested on December 21 and claimed that his daughter was a compulsive liar and had been hanging around with a bad crowd at school, saying that he had only been checking on her due to a health condition she had.

However, the father could not explain bruises on the child, to her eye, knuckles, shin, and thigh, which a medical examination concluded were not accidental.

The court heard that he had no previous convictions.

In court, he pleaded guilty to wilfully assaulting a child.

A charge against his wife, of common assault on the same child, which she had denied, was dismissed after the Crown offered no evidence in light of the husband’s guilty plea.

Defence advocate Stephen Wood said: ‘I’m not going to try to explain or justify my client’s actions. They can’t be justified.

‘What I can say is, he has learned from his actions and from professionals who have had input since.

‘It is encouraging to see he is engaging well with various services.’

Mr Wood said that another child had been returned to the couple’s care now, so it was clear that the authorities were content with the way things were progressing.

The advocate continued: ‘He is a loving father. He just got his parenting seriously wrong.’

Mr Wood said that the defendant’s own father had been strict, and he may have got elements from him.

The father was also ordered to pay £125 prosecution costs and must pay all amounts within seven days.