Abusive parents set to be placed on new child cruelty register
Parents and caregivers convicted of child cruelty could soon face monitoring similar to registered sex offenders under a proposed new registration system.
The government expects to table an amendment to the Crime and Police Act “shortly” to determine the measure, following Paula Hudgell’s campaign.
Miss Hudgell’s adopted son Tony was subjected to horrific abuse at the hands of his biological parents. The Home Office confirmed that under the changes, people who physically harm children will face tougher police scrutiny and similar restrictions.
Tony was only 41 days old when Jody Simpson and Anthony Smith brutally attacked him, causing multiple fractures, dislocations, blunt facial trauma, organ failure, toxic shock and sepsis.
He remained untreated and in pain for 10 days, and due to the extent of his injuries, both of his legs had to be amputated.
Simpson and Smith were sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2018.
The register covers child neglect, child cruelty, abandonment, female genital mutilation (FGM) and infanticide, which the Government describes as “appalling betrayals of the child’s trust and dependency”.
These people will have to notify the police if they move to another house, change their identity, travel abroad or live again with children after serving their sentences.
Corrections minister Jake Richards paid tribute to Ms Hudgell for her “extraordinary fight to ensure no child was subjected to the life-changing abuse inflicted by her son Tony”.
He added: “Child abusers don’t deserve protection; children do. The Child Cruelty Register will make these offenders visible to the police, allowing authorities to see and act when risks arise.”
Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips said: “It is inexcusable that someone who should be looking after a child would instead harm them.
“We have listened to the Hudgells and the many families who feel the system is not doing enough to protect some of the most vulnerable people in society, and we are taking vital action.
“Whether it’s online, on the streets, in schools, or with their own carers, children are kept safer under this government.”
