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| Missing mother and toddler: Grandmother of Ethan Williams and her partner jailed | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Louise Minnock, the grandmother of missing toddler Ethan Williams, has been jailed for 10 days. | Louise Minnock, the grandmother of missing toddler Ethan Williams, has been jailed for 10 days. |
| Her partner Andrew Butt was also handed a 28 days sentence at Bristol Crown Court for contempt of court, after they lied repeatedly about the toddler's disappearance. | Her partner Andrew Butt was also handed a 28 days sentence at Bristol Crown Court for contempt of court, after they lied repeatedly about the toddler's disappearance. |
| Mrs Minnock's daughter Rebecca Minnock, 35, fled her home in Highbridge, Somerset, with three-year-old Ethan two weeks ago, after a court ruled that the child should live with his father, Roger Williams. | Mrs Minnock's daughter Rebecca Minnock, 35, fled her home in Highbridge, Somerset, with three-year-old Ethan two weeks ago, after a court ruled that the child should live with his father, Roger Williams. |
| Judge Wildblood told Bristol Crown Court that while the pair were both guilty, Butt's case was "more grievous" because he helped the mother travel to Cheltenham. | |
| Roger Williams, with his son Ethan (Image: PA) Mr Butt admitted in court that he had met Ms Minnock at her home the day before she was due before the family court, and dropped her and Ethan in Cheltenham, where her aunt Anna Peters lives. | |
| However, he initially told police that Ms Minnock did not tell him where she would take Ethan, and so would not be able to tell police if arrested. | |
| Mr Butt apologised to the judge and his legal team for “doing nothing but lie” to them and said he wished to make amends. | |
| Ms Minnock has defied pleas from Judge Wildblood, the police and her family her to come forward. | |
| She recently contacted a number of newspapers to say she fled because she felt “trapped” and while she has thought about giving herself up, each time she looks at her son she thinks she “can't do that”. | |
| Additional reporting by PA |