The British mother of a child who died after being brutally abused has been jailed indefinitely.
The child’s — originally known as Baby P –horrifying death caused a furor in Britain, with the media, public and politicians united in demanding to know how his terrible injuries were missed by social workers, police and medical staff. Judge Stephen Kramer also Friday jailed the 27-year-old mum’s boyfriend for life with a minimum of 12 years and their lodger, Jason Owen, 37, indefinitely but with a minimum of three years, the British Press Association reported. The boyfriend, 32, was also convicted of raping a two-year-old girl. Baby P’s mum has to serve a minimum of five years. She and her boyfriend cannot be named. Baby P — he could not be known by his first name, Peter, until the recent lifting of a court order — was only 17 months old when he was found dead in his blood-spattered cot in August 2007. He had more than 50 injuries, including a broken back and fractured ribs, despite being on London’s Haringey council’s at-risk register and receiving 60 visits from social workers, doctors and police over eight months. The resulting public outrage saw the government’s child secretary, Ed Balls, step in to demand the removal of the council’s head of children’s services, Sharon Shoesmith, with two other leading officials also stepping down. Shoesmith had to be placed under police guard after death threats were made. Judge Kramer told Peter’s mother that she was “a manipulative and self-centered person, with a calculating side as well as a temper.” Watch more on the case ยป “Your conduct over the months prevented Peter from being seen by social services. You actively deceived the authorities… you acted selfishly because your priority was your relationship,” he told the court, PA reported. Judge Kramer’s comments echoed the country’s response to the case. “Any decent person who heard the catalogue of medical conditions and non-accidental injuries suffered by Peter cannot fail to have been appalled.” A second serious review of the case commissioned by Balls and released Friday, also reiterated that Peter’s death “could and should have been prevented.” Graham Badman, the chairman of Haringey Local Safeguarding Children Board, which conducted the review said: “I believe the most important lesson arising from this case is that professionals charged with ensuring child safety must be deeply skeptical of any explanations, justifications or excuses they may hear in connection with the apparent maltreatment of children. “If they have any doubt about the cause of physical injuries or what appears to be maltreatment, they should act swiftly and decisively.
Badman said the review found that if “doctors, lawyers, police officers and social workers had adopted a more urgent, thorough and challenging approach, the case would have been stopped in its tracks at the first serious incident.” “Baby Peter deserved better from the services that were supposed to protect him,” Badman said.
