A two-year-old girl is fighting for life in hospital after an alleged vicious assault by her mother's partner at a western Sydney home that police describe as "shocking".
A 22-year-old man was arrested at Fairfield just before 5pm on Monday and charged with reckless assault causing grievous bodily harm.
NSW Police say the mother and the man had only been together for a short time.
The mother discovered the girl on Monday afternoon at a home on Marian St in Guildford West and then drove with the child to a relative's home on nearby McCredie Rd, police said on Tuesday.
Neighbours have described how a woman pulled up at the front of a home on McCredie Rd on Monday screaming "you've killed my baby".
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Emergency services were called and paramedics commenced CPR on the child who had gone into cardiac arrest.
Acting superintendent Glen Parks said the accused had been living with the mother.
She is "very upset" and is helping the police investigation.
"This is going to be a long process and we need to work with her," Supt Parks told reporters.
He described the assault on the girl as "shocking".
"It is a human instinct to care for the young and the vulnerable and when instances like this occur it is often very difficult to comprehend," he said.
"Any incident like this is very difficult."
A NSW Police spokeswoman said the girl remained at Westmead Children's Hospital in a critical and unstable condition.
The man is due to appear in Parramatta Local Court on Tuesday.
