Quedgeley dad beat, abused and neglected his son

The man beat the child every day and forced his nose into his faeces when he defecated in his bedroom after being prevented from going to the toilet, Gloucester Crown Court heard on Friday.

Police found the boy in his bedroom sitting on the floor in the dark, with no toys, pictures or light bulb and extremely dirty bedding, the court was told.

Prosecutor Jennifer Tallentire said the man’s then partner, who is not the boy’s biological mother, informed the police about his behaviour after she had secretly videoed him chastising his son on February 17, 2020.

Ms Tallentire said: “She explained that the child has autism and a number of other health issues and told the police the boy was not allowed to have any toys in his room - only a few teddies and a book. The father claimed that his son played too loudly.

“She witnessed the man hitting his son every day and felt that he had little connection with him and was not loving towards the boy. She could often hear him slapping the boy on the third floor of the house when she was on the ground floor.

“He would often shout at his son for no good reason and she felt she had to do something so she chose to video him chastising his son.

“[The incident] started with the father preventing the boy from leaving his bedroom to go to the toilet. He had hung coat hangers on the outside of the door and these would rattle if it were opened.

“The father later went into his son’s bedroom and found that he had gone to the toilet in the room.

“He was filmed shouting and swearing and threatening to rub his son’s face in the faeces.”

The video was played to the court and the boy could be heard screaming when he was being chastised by his father and having his nose pushed into the faeces.

The court also heard an audio recording of a discussion between the man and his partner about how he had handled his son on that day.

The woman says: “How is this going to help him? Beating him senseless isn’t going to help. Stop it now before you do any more damage.”

The man replied: “It is because it is his fault.”

The woman responded: “Why is it his fault? He is a child and not an adult? You wouldn’t let him go to the toilet and that’s why he poohed in his bedroom.”

Describing what happened when police attended the man’s home, the prosecutor said: “They found the boy in his bedroom sitting on the floor in the dark. There were no toys or pictures in the room and there was no light bulb. The tablet device also had a cracked screen.

“The police also notice a large dent in the wall and that the bedding was extremely dirty.”

In his police interview the man remained silent. The boy was 'sensitively interviewed' and has since been in the care of social services, the court heard.

Professor Stuart Brody, a chartered psychologist, examined the boy and said in his assessment that the child's behaviour was 'oppositional' and it was apparent to him that he was having anxiety issues over the incident.

“He said the boy was 'shy, anxious and very sad' and that his demeanour was that of a boy significantly younger than his chronological age.

“A few psychological tests were undertaken in which he was asked what was the best thing that had happened to him? He replied ‘Nothing’.

"He was then asked what was the worst thing that he had experienced? The boy replied: 'In Gloucester I got beat up.'"

The boy was diagnosed with a genetic condition that causes a wide range of physical symptoms, learning difficulties and behavioural problems.

Susan Cavender, defending, said: “It appears the man used physical chastisement on the boy for some time. He didn’t receive any additional help in looking after his son, despite the boy suffering from a number of medical issues.

She said that he initially looked after his son and his partner’s children while his partner went to work.

“But when he started shift work this added to the stress at home.

“He explains that he took away the toys from his son’s room to avoid any distractions when getting him to sleep.

“He still loves his son, even if he did treat him badly. After the incident and before he was arrested he took his son on days out.

“He is extremely remorseful and is regretful that he has since lost contact with his son. He has since referred himself for counselling. He says he wants help and intervention."

The man pleaded guilty to cruelty by causing unnecessary suffering to a child that he had responsibility for by wilfully ill-treating him in a manner likely to cause him unnecessary suffering on February 17, 2020 and between May 1, 2019 and April 9, 2020.

Recorder James Waddington QC said to the man: “The boy was particularly vulnerable at your hand. This was best shown in your former partner’s covert video recording of you chastising the boy.

“The video shows him being subjected to a sustained physical and verbal assault by you. You repeatedly hit him, hard enough to make him yell.

“We all heard you tell him that you were going to rub his face in it. Throughout this disturbing footage the boy can be heard crying and screaming.

“At the end of the video we heard you tell your partner to 'take care of him' because you were going to kill him.

“The police were surprised to find the boy sitting on the floor in a dark bedroom, with no light bulb or any toys in it and viewing a small and cracked tablet.

“It is crystal clear that he was a neglected child. You believed it was necessary to give him as few things as possible for him not to get distracted.

“Your son stated to the psychologist that at your hand he suffered numerous beatings. He is now suffering from serious emotional harm and will have to undergo long-term behavioural therapy. Your actions have had a profound effect on this child.”

The judge sentenced the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to three years in prison and barred him indefinitely from working with vulnerable children and adults.

The father cannot be named in order to preserve the anonymity of the victim. Identifying him is against the law.