Offenders in worst cases of child cruelty to face 18 years in prison

PARENTS convicted of child cruelty leading to death will face up to 18 years in jail in the wake of the killing of Star Hobson and the abuse of Tony Hudgell.

Offenders in the worst cases of abuse and violence to children will see the maximum sentence for the crime rise from 14 years to 18 years in jail under the guidance published today by the Sentencing Council.

The council has created a new category of “very high culpability”, where offenders are judged to have been responsible for multiple incidents of violence, “very significant” force or use of a weapon, or gratuitous degradation or sadistic behaviour.

The starting point for these types of crimes will be 12 years in jail up to the maximum of 18 years and will cover all those charged with causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm or causing or allowing a child to die.

It follows the case of Frankie Smith, whose eight-year jail term for causing or allowing her daughter Star Hobson’s death was ruled “unduly lenient” by the Court of Appeal and raised to 12 years. A seven-week trial heard Star had endured a campaign of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of Smith, 20, and her partner, Savannah Brockhill, 28, who was jailed for a minimum of 25 years for the murder.

The original sentencing hearing was told Star was “caught in the crossfire” of the pair’s toxic relationship, resulting in her death at 16 months old from “catastrophic” blunt-force injuries.

The court was told Smith had participated in “degradation of Star and sadistic behaviour” as well as showing “deliberate disregard” for her daughter’s welfare by failing to contact police, seek medical attention or help from

‘These changes will empower judges to keep these criminals behind bars for longer’

family members, some of whom had reported concerns to social services after seeing Star’s bruises.

It also follows the case of seven-yearold Tony Hudgell, who had both legs amputated because of abuse by his birth parents before being taken in by an adoptive family. Child cruelty and neglect cases have jumped by 25 per cent in a year, from 21,102 in 2020/21 to 26,307 in 2021/22, according to police figures obtained by the NSPCC children’s charity through Freedom of Information requests.

Dominic Raab, the Justice Secretary, said: “We introduced Tony’s Law to ensure justice was delivered for children who faced monstrous abuse at the hands of those who should have cared for and protected them.

“These changes will empower judges to hand out the toughest sentences to those who cause harm to a child, keeping these criminals behind bars for longer.” Judges considering longer sentences for “very high culpability” cases of child cruelty are given a list of seven factors, a combination of which or a single extreme example could merit the maximum sentence.

Lord Justice William Davis, Sentencing Council chairman, said: “Child cruelty offences are by their very nature targeted against vulnerable people – children – and it is important that courts have up-to-date guidelines that reflect the penalties set by Parliament.

“The revisions published today will ensure that the courts can reflect the new penalties [when] dealing with the worst cases of child cruelty.”