How lockdown was ‘used as a cover by abusive parents to hurt their children’: Experts warn of rise in deadly child abuse fuelled by Covid restrictions – as tragic Jacob Crouch’s ‘evil’ killer parents are jailed
- NSPCC representatives have told how abusers took advantage of the pandemic
Lockdown restrictions at the height of the Covid pandemic were used ‘as a cover’ by abusers to hurt their children, an expert has said, after the ‘evil’ parents of 10-month old Jacob Crouch were this week jailed for his murder.
Jacob is just the latest in a string of tragic, fatal cases of child abuse to have emerged from the pandemic including that of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, Lola James and Star Hobson.
Experts have told how usual safeguarding methods or chances to spot serious abuse such as schools, health workers and children’s clubs were absent or moved online during the pandemic, meaning abusers could harm children in their care with impunity.
Just this week 10-month-old Jacob’s killer stepfather was jailed for life with a minimum term of 28 years, after the infant was found dead with dozens of injuries and at least 39 rib fractures in December 2020.
Now national child abuse charities such as the NSPCC are warning of the rise in deathly harm which occurred during lockdown, and the impacts which are still coming out of it.
Star Hobson was just one of multiple children murdered by parents or guardians who took advantage to coronavirus restrictions
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was murdered during the pandemic after his father and step-mother refused to return him to school
Even cases from the months leading up to the pandemic, such as that of Kyrell Matthews, two, raise concerns
Abigail Gill, associate head of policy and public affairs at the NSPCC, told the Guardian: ‘We are now starting to see the impact that lockdown has had on children’s social care and vulnerable children.
‘What these cases show is that our deepest fears did come to fruition for some children and harm was taking place behind closed doors.’
She continued: ‘What we’ve seen in quite a few of the cases is the way in which lockdown measures were actually used as a cover by some adults who were intent on causing harm to those children.
‘Now that those cases are coming through the court system, we’re seeing the horrible details of all of that come to light.’
Government figures show the number of child deaths involving abuse or neglect rose by 35, or around 20 percent, to 223 in 2020-2021. There were also 87 more serious incident notifications relating to children than in the previous year.
The NSPCC found its services were 23 percent more in demand during the same timeframe.
Numerous courts have heard harrowing details about how parents or guardians abused lockdown rules to get away with increasingly horrific abuse – Arthur’s parents kept him off school even after the easing of lockdown while Finley Boden’s stopped social workers entering their home using the guise of covid restrictions.
MailOnline here takes a look at some of the tragic cases of children who were killed by those supposed to protect them at the height of the pandemic.
Jacob Crouch, 10 months – murdered December 30, 2020
Jacob died after neither adult called 999 for ten hours after he received injuries which would prove fatal – but tragically, he would have survived had either sought help
Ten-month-old Jacob was murdered by his stepfather Craig Crouch in December 2020 after a sustained six-month period of abuse in which he and Jacob’s mother Gemma Barton forced the baby to eat his own vomit.
Jacob died after neither adult called 999 for ten hours after he received injuries which would prove fatal – but tragically, he would have survived had either sought help.
The court hear the pair ‘teamed up’ and encouraged each other to carry out vicious assaults on the child, who had 39 rib fractures, 19 visible bruises and internal injuries likened to those seen in car crash victims when he died.
On Friday Crouch, who was convicted of murder by a jury, was jailed at Derby Crown Court for life with a minimum term of 28 years.
Barton had previously been jailed for 10 years – seven-and-a-half for causing or allowing the death of a child, and a consecutive two-and-a-half years for child cruelty.
She was said to have been in a ‘coercive and controlling’ relationship at the hands of Crouch, but the judge told her she did nothing to defend her helpless child.
Finley Boden, 10 months – murdered on December 25, 2020
Finley Boden was murdered on Christmas Day just 39 days after being returned to his parents’ care
Finley was murdered by his drug-addict parents on Christmas Day, 2020. Stephen Boden, 30, and Shannon Marsden, 22, had Finley removed from their care as soon as he was born after social workers became involved during the pregnancy amid concerns about domestic violence and cannabis use.
But after the couple’s bid to have Finley returned to them succeeded in November 2020, he was dead just 39 days later. He had suffered 71 bruises, 57 fractures and ‘crushed and twisted’ bones.
The once ‘smiley and chuckling’ baby was subjected to ‘unimaginable cruelty’ by the sick pair, including a fractured thigh, broken pelvis, burn marks and bruises all over his tiny body.
He endured ‘vicious and repeated assaults’ over three weeks – at the same time both Boden and Marsden were smoking a lot of cannabis, both in their back garden and bedroom of their home.
Cannabis was even found in Finley’s blood at the time he died.
To avoid arousing the suspicion of neighbours, the pair worked together to hurt Finley, with one holding a hand over his mouth while the other abused the youngster.
Boden and Marsden also hid their abuse from social workers and family members.
The couple would be out of the house for hours at a time, making it difficult for social workers to drop by unexpectedly.
They even plotted to hide their tracks by pretending Finley had coronavirus, ordering him a test and playing on wider health concerns at the time to stop social workers from entering their home.
Lola James, two – murdered July 17, 2020
Lola James, two, was killed by her evil stepfather and had 101 injuries at the time of her death
Two-year-old Lola James was killed by her evil stepfather, suffering 101 injuries including brain damage similar to what is sustained in high-speed car-crashes.
Sinead James, 30, moved her partner Kyle Bevan, 31, into the house she shared with little Lola James in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, a day after meeting him on Facebook in February 2020.
Swansea Crown Court heard Bevan, who had a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ temper, carried out a ‘frenzied and extremely violent attack’ on the young girl just four months later, causing 101 bruises and scratches and a catastrophic brain injury.
Lola’s mother was a victim of domestic abuse and had twice been educated on how to spot signs of an abuser, but chose to prioritise her relationship with Bevan over the safety of her child, the jury was told – before they convicted her of allowing Lola’s death.
James was told by the local authority not to invite adults into the family home if she did not know them well or if they were alcohol or drug abusers, but she ignored their advice.
Kaylea Titford, 16 – found dead October 10, 2020
Kaylea Titford, 16, was left to become morbidly obese and eventually die by her neglectful parents
Also amongst the victims of lockdown is Kaylea Titford, a 16-year-old with serious health conditions which left her entirely dependent on her parents.
Kaylea, who suffered from spina bifida, was found dead at her home in Newtown, Powys, on October 10, 2020 after her parents allowed her to become morbidly obese during lockdown.
Her mother, Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 39, admitted manslaughter by gross negligence last year, while her father, Alun Titford, denied the charges and was found guilty after a trial last month.
The teenager weighed 22st 13lb with a BMI of 70 at the time of her death, and her body was discovered inside her bedroom in conditions described as ‘unfit for any animal’.
A jury of eight men and four women convicted Titford after being shown pictures during the trial at Mold Crown Court in North Wales of the ‘squalor and degradation’ Kaylea had been forced to endure.
Alijah Thomas, five – murdered September 14, 2021
Alijah Thomas, five, begged her mother not to kill her as she was strangled to death
Five-year-old Alijah Thomas begged her mother Martina Madarova, 41, not to kill her as she strangled her to death at their home in Ealing, west London, on September 14, 2021.
Madarova had put on cartoons for her daughter Alijah Thomas before carrying out the act as the child said: ‘Mummy, don’t kill me.’
She proceeded to strangle Aljah, before ‘tucking her in with a blanket’.
The 41-year-old had been suffering with her mental health and turned to alcohol during the Covid lockdown, and had been in a ‘dark place’ the night before her daughter’s tragic death.
She was given a five-year jail sentence after a judge ruled that she had ‘low responsibility’ over Alijah’s death.
A court heard that in the months leading up to the incident, family members and friends became concerned for Madarova’s wellbeing as she appeared ‘increasingly stressed’.
She was concerned for her income, after her hours as a carer had been reduced, and had become anxious after missing the deadline to enrol Alijah at school.
On the morning of September 14, Alijah’s father had left early for work and was notified a few hours later from a phone call from Madarova that their daughter was dead.
Kyrell Matthews, two – murdered October 20, 2019
Kyrell Matthews, two, was non-verbal and had 41 rib fractures at the time of his death
Kyrell Matthews, aged two, was left with 41 rib fractures and internal injuries by the time of his death after weeks of cruelty at the hands of his mother Phylesia Shirley and her boyfriend Kemar Brown.
Brown was convicted of murder while Shirley was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter.
They appeared alongside each other in the dock as Brown was sentenced to at least 25 years in prison while Shirley was jailed for 13 years.
The toddler, who was non-verbal, could be heard crying and screaming on distressing audio files taken from Shirley’s phone and played to jurors during the trial.
Brown and Shirley are understood to have been visited by social services at least once.
Multiple recordings taken over the final weeks of his life picked up the sound of Kyrell being hit repeatedly, with Brown saying: ‘Shut up’, and: ‘You have to ruin the fun.’
Another recording caught Shirley striking her son and causing him to break down in distress.
Jurors were not told that police had been called to an earlier domestic incident but no offences were identified and Kyrell was said to have appeared ‘safe and well’.
A passer-by had alerted officers on July 17 2019 after hearing shouting and screaming coming from their flat, with a female voice saying: ‘Stop hitting my face.’
It followed an attack in May 2019 when Kyrell suffered a significant injury to the side of his face and spent five days in Croydon University Hospital.
The hospital carried out an investigation and found Shirley’s explanation that the little boy had fallen off a sofa and hit his head on a highchair was ‘plausible’, police said.
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, six, murdered June 17, 2020
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, six, was murdered after a cruel campaign of torture
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, aged six, was murdered by his cruel stepmother Emma Tustin in June 2020 following a campaign of ‘torture’ at her and his father’s hands.
The pair inflicted a ‘cruel and systematic campaign of cruelty’ against him, which included forcing him to stand for up to 14-hours a day alone, depriving him of food and water and poisoning him with salt.
Arthur had been seen by social workers just two months before his death, but they concluded there were no safeguarding concerns.
In a move signed off by social workers shortly before his death in June 2020, Arthur was withdrawn from his school in Solihull and left in the hands of Hughes and Tustin.
Referrals by Arthur’s school to social services were also not followed up.
As early as October 2019, Aileen Carabine, a special educational coordinator at Arthur’s school, said Arthur ‘deteriorated’ that month.
Hughes, 29, was jailed for life with a minimum of 21 years after being found guilty of manslaughter – but cleared of murder – for encouraging the killing, including by sending a text message to Tustin 18 hours before the fatal assault telling her ‘just end him’.
Logan Mwangi, five – murdered July 31, 2020
Logan Mwangi, five, was murdered by his mother, step-father and teenage steb-brother
Five-year-old Logan Mwangi was murdered by his mother, step-father and teenage step-brother on July 31, 2021.
His body, which suffered 56 ‘catastrophic’ injuries consistent with a ‘brutal and sustained assault’, was found in the River Ogmore near his home in Sarn, Bridgend county.
John Cole, 40, Angharad Williamson, 31, and 14-year-old Craig Mulligan were all convicted of murder in April 2022.
Cole will serve a minimum of 29 years, Williamson at least 28 years, while teenage Mulligan will serve at least 15 years.
Social services repeatedly missed signs of abuse and opportunities to protect Logan, with injuries dating back to August 2020.
Inspectors have blasted the council which failed to protect murdered five-year-old Logan Mwangi, with the watchdog insisting ‘serious concerns’ remain about its children’s services a full year after his death.
Care Inspectorate Wales noted there have been improvements at Bridgend County Borough Council in the last 12 months, but said there was still a need for ‘further urgent action’.
Star Hobson, 16 months – murdered September 22, 2020
Star Hobson, 16 months, was murdered by her stepmother, with social services refusing to step in after grandparents raised concerns over assumptions they were ‘homophobic’
Star Hobson was just 16 months old when she was murdered by her mother’s girlfriend Savannah Brockill in September 2020.
In the lead-up to her death, she had suffered months of abuse in her home in Keighley, West Yorkshire, during the coronavirus lockdown in 2020.
The child’s wider family referred the couple to social services five times but in every case their complaints were dismissed.
The trial heard social workers accepted Smith’s story that the complaints were ‘malicious’ and down to relatives not approving of their same-sex relationship or Brockhill’s traveller background.
Former Children’s Commissioner for England Anne Longfield, the chairwoman of the Commission on Young Lives, warned after Star’s murder that the Covid lockdown ‘brought its own opportunities for those who harm, groom and abuse children.’
Brockill is now serving a life sentence with a minimum term of 25 years at HMP Styal in Cheshire, after being convicted in December 2021.
Star’s mother, Frankie Smith, was convicted of causing or allowing the toddler’s death and was initially sentenced to eight years behind bars.
This was increased to 12 years after a judicial review.
Social services missed five opportunities to stop Star’s killers, with her great-grandfather Dave Fawcett saying after their convictions: ‘It’s disgusting because there were five referrals. Not one of them did anything. It’s just beyond belief, really.’
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