A woman who hid a child for nearly three years has been sentenced to 7.5 years in prison, according to police in Cheshire, in the west of England. The girl “never knew daylight and fresh air,” the BBC reports from prosecutors at the woman's trial.
The sentence was handed down at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday, November 26. The woman, whose name has not been released, previously pleaded guilty to charges including: neglect, abuse of a child or causing unnecessary suffering to a child. In the statement of the police, we read that “as a result of this woman's action, the child developed slowly, was malnourished and suffered from a number of diseases.” According to the description of the BBC, when she was found, the girl, about 3 years old, looked like a 7-month-old baby.
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Social worker about the “horror” in the girl's house
According to a statement from Cheshire Police, in February 2023, social services received information that a young child was hiding in a house in the town. According to the BBC report, one of the guests of this woman heard the cry and decided to report it to the services. A social worker found a girl who was born at this address three years ago. In court, the woman described the “horror” she found at the scene – the girl had matted hair, deformities and scars. “I looked at her mother and said, 'Is this where you keep her?'” She replied matter-of-factly, “Yes, in the closet,” the BBC reported. The woman was surprised that her mother showed no emotion. She realized with horror that his face was “probably the only face the girl had ever seen besides her mother.”
Cheshire Police have shown a photograph of the cupboard where the child was kept at keepcheshire.police.uk
As it turned out, the child was born on March 18, 2020, but his birth was not even registered until the service arrived. During the trial, it was established that the mother hid them from her brothers in the bedroom, including in a closet under the bed. He hid it even from his partner, who was often at home – writes the BBC. When questioned by police, she claimed she didn't know she was pregnant and was “really scared” when she gave birth. He also made sure that the child was “not always kept in a drawer under the bed” and “the drawer was never closed,” writes the BBC.
Rachel Di Nicola, a police detective from Cheshire, admits that the officers involved were shocked by what they discovered. – What this child has experienced in his short life is simply unimaginable. And the fact that someone can allow a child to suffer so much is beyond reason – he explains in a statement on the police website. However, he adds, the girl will recover quickly.
Now the child is in foster care.
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Main image source: cheshire.police.uk
