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NSPCC recommends closing loophole for cruel and violent parents

Every ten days in England and Wales one child is killed at the hands of their parent. In half (52%) of all cases of children killed at the hands of another person, the parent is the principal suspect .

The sentencing of the carers of baby Rhys Biggs today (Tuesday 10 March) highlights a loophole which allows carers who cause or allow deliberate serious injury of a child to evade justice, says the NSPCC.

Two-month-old Rhys Biggs sustained a catalogue of horrendous injuries before his death in 2006. It was reported that the boy's right wrist and shoulder were broken and his ribs repeatedly crushed and fractured during a horrific campaign of cruelty. The court heard how on one occasion the helpless baby spent hours screaming in agony. His mother and her boyfriend were convicted of assault and cruelty rather than murder or manslaughter because the cause of the boy's death could not be determined.

The NSPCC says the case highlights a gap in the law. It believes more needs to be done to bring parents and carers to justice when they brutally wound or disable their children.

NSPCC lawyer Barbara Esam says: "The law needs to be addressed to cover cases where a carer has inflicted serious injuries on a child - where the child does not die or where it cannot be proved that the child died from the injuries inflicted.

"We must secure full justice for children who are battered and bruised at home and left disabled for the rest of their lives. The gap in the law must be closed so that cruel and violent parents face charges which reflect the serious nature of their offences."

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