Cheshire woman sentenced for child neglect

A woman has been jailed after she admitted neglecting a child at her home in Cheshire.

The woman, who cannot be names for legal reasons, appeared at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday 26 November where she was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison.

She had earlier pleaded guilty to four counts of causing assault/ill treatment /neglect/abandonment of child to cause unnecessary suffering / injury.

The charges relate to offences which occurred between 18 March 2020 and 18 February 2023.

The court was told how in February 2023 police and social services were informed that a child had been discovered hidden in a bedroom at an address in Cheshire.

A joint visit to the address was undertaken and the child was taken immediately taken into care.

Following enquiries, it was found that the child had been born in March 2020, but had been kept secret and never been registered.

Instead, the child had spent much of its life hidden in a bedroom at the address, even sleeping in a drawer under the bed.

As a result of the woman’s actions, the child was severely underdeveloped, malnourished and also had a number of medical conditions which had never been treated.

Following the sentencing DC Rachel Di Nicola said:

“What this child has experienced in its short lifetime is simply unimaginable, and how anyone can allow a child to suffer in that way is beyond belief.

“The shocking neglect was on an indescribable scale and the suffering the child experienced will impact them for the rest of their life.

“All those involved in the case have been left deeply shocked by what we uncovered, and we have all been amazed by the way the child has recovered since they were discovered, and we hope that this recovery continues.”