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Subscribe to RSSA mother and stepfather who forced their 11-year-old son to live in a filthy converted coal cellar have each been jailed for two years by a British court.
The couple told police they locked the boy in the tiny windowless room as punishment for stealing food from the family refrigerator.
The child, who cannot be identified because of his age, was left to sleep on a dirty mattress with a sleeping bag for a blanket.
The rubbish-strewn room had no heating, a bare lightbulb and concrete walls and floor.
The couple in their 40s, who also cannot be named, both admitted a single charge of cruelty by wilful neglect at an earlier hearing at Preston Crown Court.
See the full story at ITV News
He was forced to spend nights in the outhouse, which was linked to the living room of the family home in Blackpool, Lancashire.
Judge Norman Wright said that the experience of being locked in a windowless room in "appalling conditions" had taken a physical and psychological toll on the child victim.
"It is bound, in my judgment, to be profound," he said.
The traumatized boy was made to live and sleep in the room, described as a "cell" by social workers, and reduced to using a potty as he was locked up each night until morning.
ITV News is the UK partner of NBC News.
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sick sick sick people...wishing that child a soft place to land and warm hearts to help him forget his pain !
How can a child "steal" food from his parents' (and I do use the term "parents" very loosely) refrigerator? Did they not want to feed their child? He is, after all, dependent on them.
Hummmmmmm ... A more fitting punishment would be to let the two buggers sleep in the coal bin for the two years & work everyday ... under "supervision" ....
When someone doesn't want a child, WHY don't they let someone adopt them so the child won't be abused like this. Horrible people.
bevvar, people don't adopt. Adoption centers and foster homes often have emotional abuse just like this, what the @!$%# do you people think adoption centers are? Happy little fairy tales?
I'm not saying what these parents did was right, because it isn't. But cmon, have any of you people ever lived in a foster home? I did.
Master Bob - No, I have not lived in a foster home. But I remember one foster child in our neighborhood, and he was well-cared for.
One of my friends had a rather large family. Besides Tim [name changed], he had 6 or 7 sisters, one of whom was severely retarded. Yet, they also took a foster child in, and from what I could see, this boy was very well cared for, included in all family activities and hung out with the rest of us boys as played the usual games of nine-year-olds in the summer time.
I'm sorry for your experience. But not all foster home stories are sad.
Sorry that your experience was bad Bob. Mine, my brother and my five sisters was different. The foster family I lived with adopted me after my birth family gave me up. Next came my adopted brother, born to an unwed teen. Then came two blood sisters, both as foster children first before being signed off by an abusive mother and a father that couldn't care for them. Shortly after that my parents adopted them. Finally came two more blood sisters who suffered horrible physical and sexual abuse by the blood father. Charming fellow. Now grown I have two sons, both adopted, who were foster children of my parents. They're grown and have given me five grand-children, three of which are adopted. That doesn't include all the babies, young children and teens my parents cared for over the years. Some short term, others long. Total? In just shy of 30 years as foster parents my parents took care of over 300 kids. They went to numerous weddings and were listed as Mom and Dad, my father giving away I forget how many women as the proxy father. Were more godparents then should be allowed (kidding) and countless high school and college graduations. Needless to say (but I will anyway) they were the best parents I could possibly have. Not all foster home stories are horror ones.
It would seem to me that if they had a legitimate reason to control his eating, it would have been more appropriate to lock up the food instead of locking up the child.
The coal industry will be pissed you called coal filthy
Why? Every miner will tell you it's a dirty job. Both of my grandfathers worked in coal and ore mines. My grandmothers often talked about how dirty their clothes were. There were bathhouses at the mines so that the workers could shower before going home, but the clothes still had to be washed. I remember the wringer washers that my grandmothers used. Better than a rub board, harder to use than modern washers- those things could get anything clean!
In the late 70s I met many British Soldiers in Belgium. Usually a husband and wife. Their children of teenage years were kept back in England with Private Schools. I heard parents telling their children they could not come visit in the spring because the parents were taking a vacation somewhere. My limited experience showed me many British are harsher on their children than here in the United States.
Going to private school hardly compares with being locked in a cellar.
Deweydan,
You are correct - the 1% who can afford private schools do indeed send their children away at a very early age, and may limit vacations home to summer and Christmas. Up until recently, it was considered a way of building independence and I know people who were educated in this way who liked the separation from their parents. Wasn't this what Princess Diana loathed? However, the rest of the country who cannot afford private schools are not the same. They look after their kids just like USA parents do - maybe even better, as they have access to NHS medical care, social services, preschools etc. at taxpayer expense.
That said, I doubt these two charmers were part of the 1% or even like normal parents. I say name them and shame them - why protect their identities when such obvious neglect damage has been exposed?
Wealthy people in the US also send their kids to private boarding schools and limit their visits home or on vacations. Some Americans are so quick to condem actions of people in other countries without looking around our own.
My oldest son ate like an elephant from 8 until He finally married at 20. I didn't have a cellar or outhouse, to put Him in. Even if I had, He would have likely broken out. I did think about wrapping a stout chain around the refrigerator and padlocking it though. He was always a good boy, and became a fine man, but gwad, could that boy eat!
I hope they get locked up for 2 years every night in a similar room!
I hope they get locked up for 2 years day and night in the same room they kept the poor child in.
You don't know the facts...he might have had it coming...
AreYou... Crazy?: We know enough facts to know the parents were hateful and cruel. Hopefully you don't have kids of your own.
Better not let the coal industry hear you call coal filthy
We heard you the first time. Playing politics with child abuse. Pretty despicable. You should be writing about passing Barbara Boxer's "Violence Against Children Act" if you want to bring up politics.
New account I see. Your troll doesn't seem to be taking off that well though.
With all that brimstone who needs coal? You tell 'em Rev.
We've got the who, what, where and why, but what happened to the "when"? Did they do this for a week? A month? A year? Two years? Journalism 101, folks.
One night, one hundred, one thousand, it doesn´t flipping matter. You know that this is just the tip of the iceberg as far as the various types of "punishments" they used on this poor child. I hope there´s a special room in hell for these two.
Sounded like about a year. They provided a link to the original story.
See the full story at ITV News
Why? Why do people do these things?
Because rhey are beyond sick mf'ers
My first guess would be religion.
All the kids I know that were abused had religious wack-jobs for parents.
well most religions would actually teach you NOT to do terrible things like this but most ppl dont follow their religions correctly but I doubt religion had ANYTHING to do with this particular incident...
Everymom - Does it really matter "when" or how long?? Even if it were one night - it is outrageous! For "stealing" food out of the fridge? Isn't that child entitled to eat out of it? AND they only received 2 years for this horrible abuse? Incredible! My heart goes out to that child, and every child that has yet to be discovered in the homes of monsters!
"Everymom - Does it really matter "when" or how long?? Even if it were one night - it is outrageous! For "stealing" food out of the fridge? Isn't that child entitled to eat out of it?"
Of course it matters how long. If they had done it for two evenings as punishment they clearly would not have been charged with a crime for it - as that would be a reasonable punishment.
As to "entitled"... no, a child is never entitled to take food out of a refrigerator without the parents permission. Not all families are well to do and sometimes it's very important that the food lasts until the next pay period. Luckily I've never been in that sort of a situation myself, but I did have several friends growing up who had a single mom raising them, and although if they asked permission they would be told what they should eat (to finish off some leftovers vs opening a new container, etc) or if they could have a can of soda.
My friends were not suffering from obesity - so it was simply economic, but was very important for their household that they didn't just go raiding the fridge whenever they got the munchies. I've known other kids who couldn't control their compulsive eating and who were likewise banned from being able to just raid the fridge when they wanted a snack.
Clearly this is yet another poorly written MSNBC article that skipped half (or more) of the important details, and it seems that there clearly was an abusive situation going on - but don't forget that not everybody is rich, and not all kids behave. If this kid has an obesity problem and he kept sneaking into the fridge in the middle of the night maybe his parents in their desperation started locking him in the coal cellar not knowing what else to do. Unfortunately not every issue is clear cut - especially when a child doesn't follow the rules and/or the family is not well to do. Since the article didn't fill in a lot of key details it's impossible to know exactly what went down, but please don't be a clueless American suburbanite assuming that everybody's refrigerator is always well stocked; a lot of people are barely getting along, and many of those people do tell their kids that the fridge is off limits without permission.
@ chouse:
Would you lock a child in a closet or a cage for a couple nights? If so, please don't have children. You don't deserve the privilege.
"Would you lock a child in a closet or a cage for a couple nights? If so, please don't have children. You don't deserve the privilege.
Oh GFY you simple minded troll. I take it that you've never dealt with children with behavioral issues - and although none of my family has issues that have required any sort of firm parenting, how DARE you try to pull something so obscene out of your ass.
There is a big difference between "being told to go to your room" and locked in a cage. Clearly this was somewhere in between the two. This family most likely was dealing with either a compulsive eater or serious financial issues - and yes they got WAY carried away, but that doesn't allow you to try to randomly say the amazingly clueless crap that you did.
I recommend before banging that reply button you actually READ what people have to say you schmuck! If you had bothered to, you would have seen me say that this was clearly abusive........ now go away and stick your head in the sand, or bother to READ before daring to tell somebody that they don't have the privilege of raising children based on the fact that you didn't bother to even read what they had said. Moron!
It's sad how many psychos are on this site, but you really win the prize for biggest idiot I've run into in a long time for both not reading what I said and then trying to imply I said the exact opposite. Tool!
See the full story at ITV News
That's starvation and isolation. You consider this appropriate dicipline for "children with behavioral issues." I suggest you read the facts before you defend clearly abusive parents. You appear to have some anger issues of your own.
And "Tool!" to you too.
"You consider this appropriate dicipline for "children with behavioral issues."
No... once again READ what I said... it's really fricking easy!
I said two nights could be discipline. That would be a lot nicer than the types of rearing most Baby Boomers got, as well as their children - and would be a shower of love compared to many in the Depression generation where being regularly beaten by parents was not only tolerated but was actually encouraged. Going to bed hungry was a common tactic, as were beatings with a stick, spankings, slapping, "washing your mouth out with soap" - with real soap, etc... As much as it's important not to abuse children, people seem to forget awfully fast what the norm was not so long ago.
Obviously if keeping him in that room went on for more than a few nights, then it goes from discipline into neglect and far worse crimes.
"I suggest you read the facts before you defend clearly abusive parents"
Once again, tool... READ. Seriously... in my first post here I specifically called out that the article didn't provide the relevant facts, so feel free to get off your high horse and have a clue. I didn't defend these people, not one bit - all I had done was suggest that what starts as discipline can turn into a crime. But since you didn't READ what I said, you just saw that first line and went off all psychopathic and ranting and assuming things that I had clearly said the opposite of. Get meds... you clearly need some - or glasses.
Sounds like more "psychopathic and ranting."
chouse, this was not making a child go to their room. It was locking them in a space that was barely big enough for a mattress, with a potty to use as a toilet. To add to that, it had no heat so was likely to be pretty cold, depending on the time of year.
Double post!
chouse, I find your post to be worthless ranting. There is nothing reasonable about the horrific treatment of this CHILD. Your views as posted reveal a strange detachment from the reality as posted in the news story. Your excuses for starving a child are simple minded foolishness. If this family is unable to meet the needs of their hungry child, they need to get help or give him up. Starving your child so that you can make your groceries last is simply unacceptable. I surely hope you do not have children...
"chouse, I find your post to be worthless ranting."
Oh dear, am I supposed to feel bad? I take it that you didn't bother to read my posts either - your comments are clearly those of a "skimmer".
"Your excuses for starving a child are simple minded foolishness."
And when did I advocate that? Seriously, if you're going to come here and troll at least get your facts straight.
"Starving your child so that you can make your groceries last is simply unacceptable."
Nobody ever discussed starving the kid. There's a world of difference between when my parents would make one of us go to bed without dinner and starvation. Stop trying to be so damn melodramatic - it's not working for you.
The article that RevSpinnaker posted actually gave some of the details that this article was missing. The VERY SAME details that my first post mentioned were so sorely lacking. You're trying to go off on me as if I had read that article instead of this one - but that's not how it works. Get a clue.
@Rob80 - and it's a shame that this article didn't bother to tell us any of those specifics - but you'll note that my first post mentioned that there was clearly abuse going on. Some not so bright folks mistook some of my comments as if I was advocating for "spare the rod and spoil the child" tactics - and then spazzed out quite irrationally.
Renee
it does matter, if it was 1 night, not such a big deal. If it was several days or weeks then thats a different story.
as far as stealing food, I had a friend growing up who's parents had to put a padlock on their fridge because otherwise the kids would clean it out in a couple of days
without all the facts your bleeding heart is not justified
Dano, you're so wrong! And as far as the parents of this friend of yours goes, they were just as guilty of abuse as these parents are. Something has really soured for you not to even feel bad for your friend that he couldn't eat when he wanted to. By the way, perhaps you need to read the article again. "He was forced to spend night(S)...". And anytime you're put in isolation, don't fool yourself...it scars you because it's something you never forget.
I'm thinking I'd rather read a comment from a "bleeding heart" than from someone like you whose heart doesn't bleed at all.
well lets see, my friend and his sisters were all obese, the parents both worked and the kids would empty the fridge while they were gone. but you think thats ok? no problem let them eat all they want so when they weigh 300+ lbs. let them eat all they want? kids need disipline otherwise you get a bunch of lazy self centered entitlement adults
The kid was forced to spend nights in a small room with a mattress and sleeping bag and from the pictures what looks like headphones? doesnt sound all that bad to me, Ive had bedrooms that werent much larger.
but as I said not enough information to judge
The really sad part is that this type of mistreatment is not an isolated incident. Poor helpless children at the hands of cruel adults. Adults that I'd love to get my hands on.
It doesn't matter how long this child was locked up. It will leave scars for the rest of his life. I know this because my sister and I were locked up in our basement, with no toilet, food and light for a couple of days at a time. I had started school so the days became shorter. My father was in the military so we never became close to anyone. When I had my first memory, as an adult, I asked my mother why did she do it. She blamed it on my father. He had passed away and I would have never asked him anyway. He was an evil man and most people were afraid of him. Through therapy, my faith, and having special friends I was able to forgive them, so I could finally move on with my life. I pray this child will get the right help and hopefully he, at some point, will be able to function as a fairly normal person
Just curious, did your father, mother or both lock you and your sister in the basement?
My father. He lived to be 65, but I knew very little about him or his family. As I said, us kids were very afraid of him and later I found out, so was my mother's side of the family One of his brothers died and we did attend the funeral. It was there I found out about all the skeletons in the closet. His mother was a schizophrenic. She was tortured as a child, therefore she tortured her own children. I don't remember his father. He was a traveling salesman and apparently he was rarely at home. The entire family had serious issues, but they never saw them as such. I've lived much of my life in fear. Oddly, everyone of them are dead, now, and I feel I'm free for the first time in my life.
Thank you. I asked because my mom blamed everything on my dad and he was a great guy. She was the abusive one. Your mom obviously had reason to fear your dad. She may have even thought the safest place for you and your sister was in the basement away from him. It's terrible how these things get passed down between generations. Public awareness would go a long way to help abused kids heal and break the cycle before they repeat them.
Kudos for your own success. Hope you squared things with your mom. I'm sure she did the best she could.
Team Captain, don't get angry, get militant. Contact your representatives to pass Barbara Boxer's "Violence Against Children Act." It's languished in judiciary committees for several years. Abused children deserve better than partisan political bickering.
NAME the parents! Post PICTURES of them. No different then any other child abusers!
Solitary confinement I'm hoping. Let the penalty mirror the crime.
It's so disgusting to hear things like this . . . if these so-called "parents" had an ounce of love for that child they would have purchased a chain and lock for the refrigerator -- anything other than locking this kid in a coal bin . . . shame on them for calling themselves human beings.
Two years for cruel and unusual punishment? How about endangering the welfare of a child? If he had become ill and almost died from exposure, attempted murder? If there was a discipline problem with the child, there are better ways to handle it than locking them away in a dank, cold basement. If raiding the fridge was the problem, refrigerator locks are cheap!
These two people don't need the responsibility of taking "care" of any living thing in my opinion. Perhaps they should be enrolled in parenting classes while incarcerated and given more prison time if they are caught with any extra food but that which is given to them in the prison cafeteria.
Who heats their house with coal anymore? The whole place must be black and covered in soot, all the rooms would resemble a coal cellar so it doesn't really matter which room was designated the kids bedroom.
dinsmo,
Hello, the article clearly states these were british parents, I pretty darn sure that there are plenty of british homes and apts from the old days that have not been updated and our still burning coal for heat.
well maybe you're right but it sounds like a crappy place to live. Their government should give them a nicer place instead of giving all their money to the Eurozone to prop up Greece.
Lets just hope they are locked in Solitary confinement in a windowless room and see how much they like it!!!!
Not America though I'm sure we can top that!A nice whipping for both
A good whipping and someone please bring the tar and feathers.............we'll fix'em!!!
As an educator, this disgusts and frustrates me so much! It's no wonder that our schools are struggling to meet standards when parents aren't doing their jobs!
An 11 yr old boy 'raided' their #@$% refrigerator!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe their growing 'son' was HUNGRY!!!! Some people must be stark raving crazy!!!! Never thought that when my children got in the refrigerator to get something to eat that they were 'raiding' it!
I hope these cruel idiots lose their filty house that includes that dungeon of a room that put that poor child in!!!
I also hope the Judge doesn't let them out EARLY!!!!!
Lock the parents in the coal bin but first, put a dozen hungry rats in there.
I think the parents should be imprisioned until the child is 100% better. Once he is free of his demons then so should they.
I feel for the kid, parent should be done with the same kind of justice. Reminds me of what Romney did with his dog. Would be good justice for him also. I love my dog, can't imagine doing it to a human or a dog.
Dan0
Renee
it does matter, if it was 1 night, not such a big deal. If it was several days or weeks then thats a different story.
as far as stealing food, I had a friend growing up who's parents had to put a padlock on their fridge because otherwise the kids would clean it out in a couple of days
without all the facts your bleeding heart is not justified
dan0: You sound just like Romney when he put his dog on top of his car. One day two days, it does not matter, it's still abuse. Be it a human or an animal. You probably laughed about it just like Robme did. People like you deserve the same kind of treatment as the kid had to live through and will have to live through the rest of his life. Shame on you...
My neighbors are terrible towards their children. They also punish them if they take ANY food without approval and they are not allowed to eat something the parents bought specifically for themselves ( such as cookies). Once the dad got into a fight with the 15 yr old over a bag of marshmallows and the authorities came. They completely bully these children and no one will do anything about it.
I hope this poor child will find parents that will love him...completely and unconditionally. As for the parents the sentence they received is not enough...hope Karma comes around sooner, rather then later.