North Yorkshire father guilty of ill-treating toddler son

Police had to climb over the garden fence via a wheelie bin to rescue the child, who was shivering with cold, crying and pale looking, said Louise Berry, prosecuting.

He had nothing on the lower part of his body and was holding a dirty nappy. The child’s home was in darkness with a locked front door.

“If it wasn’t for the neighbours ringing the police, it could have been catastrophic,” said Ms Berry.

They had heard the child crying in the rear garden of his home for at least 45 minutes and called police at 10.25pm.

A police officer put his own coat round the toddler to keep him warm, the neighbours provided a blanket to wrap him in, and the child was taken to hospital.

A second police officer also climbed into the garden and got into the house via a patio door. The baby gate leading from the patio into the rest of the house was secured with a dog lead.

The policewoman shouted “police, anyone home” continuously but it wasn’t until she got onto the internal stairs that the child’s father appeared at their top, claiming that he had gone to bed with the child and been asleep for two hours.

“He was clearly confused as to what was going on and quite clearly intoxicated,” said Ms Berry. “For a good number of minutes, he didn’t know where the child was.”

There was no-one else in the house.

The father pleaded guilty to ill-treating a child at their then home in North Yorkshire. He is not being named to protect the identity of the child.

The court heard social services have got a guardianship order for the toddler, who no longer lives with the defendant.

York magistrates gave the father a 12-month community order with 20 days’ rehabilitative activities and six months’ alcohol treatment. He must pay a £114 statutory surcharge and £85 prosecution costs.

They said, after reading a letter from the father and a pre-sentence report, that he was remorseful and determined to change his behaviour.

Defence solicitor Kevin Blount said the father’s girlfriend had become pregnant and after the birth had “disappeared” leaving him to look after their child alone. He was an alcoholic with mental health problems who had had a difficult childhood.  

“He is a young man struggling on his own, emotionally immature,” said Mr Blount. “He hasn’t been the father he wanted to be. He struggles with alcohol. Alcohol clearly contributed to the offence.”

“He has described this experience as being life-changing,” said Mr Blount.  “It has been a wake-up call for everyone involved.”

Social services had become much more involved with the family.

“He is trying to improve his own condition. He wants to be a father to his son and be the parent he should have been 12 months ago,” said Mr Blount. “He loves (the toddler) very much.”