The former owner of a nursery, where a baby girl strangled herself while she was left on her own, is being sentenced.
Molly Cunliffe, 16-months-old, strangled herself on a clothes bag attached to her cot at Tiddlywinks nursery, in Gloucester, while she was left unattended for over 20 minutes in October 2005.
Two weeks after Molly was found unconscious, doctors said that there was no hope of her recovering, and her parents agreed to her life-support machine being switched off.
Rosemarie Meadows, 45, who owned the nursery at the time faces an unlimited fine after admitting failing to protect the health and safety of toddlers.
Meadows, of Oldbury Orchard, Churchdown, wearing black and with dark hair, sobbed throughout the 15-minute hearing and was barely audible when she uttered the word ‘guilty’.
Last year an inquest jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing after hearing Molly was in the care of a 17-year-old student and an unqualified member of staff while senior managers held a meeting upstairs.
Molly’s parents Keata Glenton, 30, and Matthew Cunliffe, 29, who now have a daughter, Ella, one, are expected to attend the hearing.
Previously Ms Glenton said her heart had been “ripped out” by the events at the Worcester Street nursery which has now closed.
A father who murdered his 16-month-old daughter by snapping her spine after months of abuse has been jailed for life.
James Howson, 25, was told he will serve a minimum sentence of 22 years for killing his little girl Amy.
Amy’s mother, Tina Hunt, was given a 12-month suspended sentence after admitting allowing the death of a child and child cruelty.
Sentencing him at Leeds Crown Court, judge Mrs Justice Cox, recounted how the defendant placed his daughter over his knee or other object and broke her back at their home while he was looking after her. He then sat with her body until the morning.
The judge said: “This was, in my view, a chilling and brutal attack.
“The bone was completely dislocated, resulting in spinal shock, rapid unconsciousness - mercifully - and to death.”
She went on: “The jury was satisfied, on the clearest of evidence, that it was you who deliberately inflicted truly horrific injuries upon your defenceless little daughter, Amy, from which she died within a few hours.”
The judge also detailed the other occasions in the weeks leading up to the murder in December last year when Howson “cruelly and deliberately assaulted Amy”, leaving her with multiple fractures to her arms and legs.
Howson showed no emotion as he was led from the dock.
The judge said to him: “I have not seen the slightest evidence of remorse from you for what you did.”
The court heard how Howson had a troubled history and had been violent towards women when he was young yet had no previous convictions.
AdrianWatermanQC, defending, told the court how, when Howson was expelled from school as a teenager, a teacher noted in a report: “This boy will commit a murder before too long. I’ve never seen a such a disturbed young man.”
Hunt admitted the child cruelty charge on the basis that she did nothing to alert the authorities to her daughter’s plight.
But the judge told her “level of culpability falls at the lowest end of the scale” after hearing how Howson completely dominated her and was often violent.
She said Hunt was also in the lowest 1 per cent band of intelligence and that she had to balance the protection of children against the “pressures on immature and inadequate parents”.
National Anti-Forced Adoption Week Against BAAF; 10th November 2008 until 16th November 2008
This is the week that BAAF, The local authority, CAFCASS, CORAM, Social Services and other government bodies launch a week of events to encourage people to adopt.
We need to spoil their week so less children are stolen to forced adoption. 10 - 16 November 2008.
BAAF working to find A way to split families up, so children can be stolen all year round. Every November we draw the nation’s attention in stealing more children. Each year they Campaign to steal more children
BAAF, Social Services, Solicitors, Judges, the Government All Steal Your Children From You!
There are opportunities to Email Your Local Social Services to Tell Them about Your Own Account Of How They Steal Children. In all aspects of forced-adoption.
They Are Stealing More Children Than Ever, Remember We Need To Spoil Their Plans!
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/News_0976.htm CHILD protection officials failed to recognise the danger to a toddler who was tortured and killed by her stepfather, a report said yesterday. But social services chiefs said lessons will be learned from her death in a bid to ensure it does not happen again. A report into the death of the two-year-old said there was ‘a failure to recognise indicators of risk’. The review of the case of the child called Lois also found that even when a risk assessment was undertaken it was ‘inadequate’. Officials in charge of social services in Caerphilly county, where Lois lived with her mother and stepfather, said staff training and support had now been improved and procedures strengthened. Lois, who lived on Caerphilly’s Lansbury Park estate, died on November 8, 2004, from a head injury. She had been placed on the child protection register a month earlier.
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/News_0975.htm Kylie Minogue has joined with NSPCC and ChildLine in support of a new campaign to raise funds for abused children, The Child’s Voice Appeal. The services received 2.3 million calls in the last year from more than half a million kids needing help. Many reported calling several times just to get through to a counsellor. The appeal aims to fund up to 15 extra call centres next year, and boost volunteers by about 600 to help get to every call first time.
Full Article: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/News_0974.htm Cafcass today publishes a report examining the health and wellbeing of young people in care. The report found that young people in care were happy but they sometimes felt the affects of stress, wanted better advice on relationships and they wanted more support to eat healthily for instance in foster or children’s homes Based on a research event organised by the Cafcass Children’s Rights Team, the report outlines what young people in care feel about their health and wellbeing. The report was researched in collaboration with Professor Adrian James from the Centre for the Study of Childhood and Youth, University of Sheffield; and evaluated by independent research provider
CHILD protection officials failed to recognise the danger to a toddler who was tortured and killed by her stepfather, a report said yesterday.
But social services chiefs said lessons will be learned from her death in a bid to ensure it does not happen again.
A report into the death of the two-year-old said there was ‘a failure to recognise indicators of risk’.
The review of the case of the child called Lois also found that even when a risk assessment was undertaken it was ‘inadequate’.
Officials in charge of social services in Caerphilly county, where Lois lived with her mother and stepfather, said staff training and support had now been improved and procedures strengthened.
Lois, who lived on Caerphilly’s LansburyPark estate, died on November 8, 2004, from a head injury. She had been placed on the child protection register a month earlier.
Cafcass today publishes a report examining the health and wellbeing of young people in care.
The report found that young people in care were happy but they sometimes felt the affects of stress, wanted better advice on relationships and they wanted more support to eat healthily for instance in foster or children’s homes
Based on a research event organised by the Cafcass Children’s Rights Team, the report outlines what young people in care feel about their health and wellbeing. The report was researched in collaboration with Professor Adrian James from the Centre for the Study of Childhood and Youth, University of Sheffield; and evaluated by independent research provider
Tell Us What You Would Do To Improve The Family Courts And Social Services. Take Our Survey AboutUK Family Courts and Social Services. How Do You Think The Government Can Improve The Way The Family Courts Work In The UK?
Social Services, BAAF, CAFCASS, NSPCC, Help, Children, Social Workers, Families, Parents, Children Services, Care Proceedings, Adoption, Family Courts, Family Law, Local Authorities, stop injustice now
Posted by Ian Walton
Posted by Ian Walton
Posted by Ian Walton
