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Jail for mother who bit son's arm | Jail for mother who bit son's arm |
(41 minutes later) | |
A mother who bit her five-year-old son on the arm after the child hurt his eight-month-old sister has been jailed for five months. | |
The 28-year-old, who cannot be named, told police she thought the boy had injured his sister at the family home in Cheltenham after she heard crying. | The 28-year-old, who cannot be named, told police she thought the boy had injured his sister at the family home in Cheltenham after she heard crying. |
The boy's teachers reported the case after finding two marks, both more than 3cm long, on him. | |
The mother pleaded guilty to a charge of wilfully assaulting a child. | The mother pleaded guilty to a charge of wilfully assaulting a child. |
Asked by police why she had bitten the child, the woman said: "I don't know. | Asked by police why she had bitten the child, the woman said: "I don't know. |
The treatment of children is the test of a civilised society Judge Mark Horton "Probably that he hurt his sister so he's got to be hurt. It's an automatic reaction to protect your youngest." | |
Judge Mark Horton, at Gloucester Crown Court, said: "There can be few offences more likely to cause anger and desire for retribution from the public than a case of a parent who maliciously and without cause assaults her own child." | |
The woman, who had previously hoped to become a counsellor, has since had both children taken into foster care. | The woman, who had previously hoped to become a counsellor, has since had both children taken into foster care. |
Prosecutor Julian Kesner said: "This is a case of inadequate parenting by a mother who, in interview, admitted biting her son, had difficulty explaining why she had done it, but said that she was sorry for having done so." | |
Lloyd Jenkins, defending, said his client was struggling as a single mother and the bite was a "knee-jerk reaction". | |
He said: "She has started a 12-week course with regards to improving her parenting skills, dealing with anger management issues, not flying off the handle, not seeking revenge and not biting her five-year-old child." | |
Judge Horton said the treatment of children was "the test of a civilised society" and he would be failing in his duty if he did not jail the woman immediately. | |
The woman will serve half of her sentence before being released on licence. |
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