Legal News
Cwmbran Couple Kept Son In Dog Cage (13 October 2011)
Date: 13/10/2011
A Cwmbran couple kept their young son in a dog cage and called him “the devil child”, Newport Crown Court heard. The pair, who cannot be named, locked their two-year-old in the cage and secured with it cord in order to control him. Both have admitted to the ill-treatment of the boy and were handed a 26-week prison term, suspended for two years. They must carry out 200 hours’ unpaid work and were handed a two-year supervision order.
The court heard how the police had raided the couple’s home following an anonymous tipoff. Police found the boy’s toys inside of the cage, along with a baby's bottle and blanket. The boy’s mother informed police that she put the boy in the cage when performing her household chores yet John Probert, prosecuting, told the court that officers found that the boy was locked inside of the cage at various times during the day and night. Relatives of the child told police that his parents called him “the devil child”. The court heard that the boy was found with scratches and bruises on his arms and his nappy often remained unchanged.
Alex Greenwood, defending, claimed that the mother had been diagnosed as suffering from post-natal depression following a premature labour. He told the court that the father had described himself and his partner as good parents, claiming that he had never hit the boy. The boy is currently under the care of social services. Both parents have been disqualified from working with children.
Duncan Lewis’ child care solicitors are able to represent children and their relatives in cases of alleged ill-treatment.