A MOTHER and her partner have received prison sentences for child abuse that left her toddler son covered in bruises.

The boy, aged two, had been hit several times over the course of ten to twelve days, and was terrified of having a bath, said David Hall, prosecuting.

The injuries were discovered by his great-grandmother when she was looking after him, and she took him to a GP.

York Crown Court heard that both the 21-year-old mother, and her 22-year-old partner blamed each other for causing the injuries to the toddler's face, arms, legs and bottom, when they were all living together in north York.

Both denied injuring him, and admitted a charge of child neglect. Assault charges against the pair were left on file which means they are not convictions but appear on their criminal record.

The Recorder of York, Judge Paul Batty QC, said: "Each of you grievously let that child down. It is perfectly plain that deliberate violence was inflicted upon that helpless little boy.

"Neither of you admitted doing it. Each of you perfectly well knew that this child had been significantly injured and neither of you did anything by way of seeing medical attention for that child."

The partner, now of central York, who has previous convictions for violence, was jailed for 12 months. He is not the child's father. The judge said: "You were the dominant person within this relationship."

The mother, now of Selby, cried as she was sentenced to a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for two years on condition she does 18 months' supervision, 30 days' rehabilitative activities, ten days' specified activities and 150 hours' unpaid work. She had no previous convictions.

Her barrister Andrew Semple said she had had to drop out of college when the boy was born. She had had difficulties looking after him through inexperience, lack of support and debts left by his father.

She was stricken with guilt and remorse and had lost custody of her child, but was working with social services to rebuild the mother-child relationship.

Alex Menary, for the partner, said the couple's relationship lasted about ten weeks and broke up when the injuries were discovered. He quoted neighbours' evidence that they had heard the mother screaming a year before the injuries, and before the partner moved in with the mother and son.

The judge said no-one had seen injuries until the partner arrived.

  • Note, the adults in this case cannot be named because doing so would identify the child, whose anonymity is protected by a court order. Readers should not identify them on social media.