With domestic violence against children increasing, Woman’s Own looks at some of the most horrific cases
WORDS: VERONIQUE HAWKSWORTH.
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, Star Hobson, Asiah Kudi – they’re just some of the names we’ve heard in the news recently in tragic, heartbreaking stories – the types of stories that nobody wants to hear, yet seem to be happening more and more. Last year, the NSPCC recorded a shocking 25% jump in the number of child cruelty and neglect cases since the previous year. Between 2021 and 2022, 26,307 cases were recorded in England, averaging 72 cases per day.
While the effects of the pandemic and the lockdowns played a big part in the rise, the numbers show no signs of decline. In fact, the NSPCC responded to over 4,400 calls in the past year from adults concerned about domestic abuse affecting children. The NSPCC has warned of missed opportunities to help vulnerable children, particularly those experiencing ‘coercive control’ and other less immediately obvious abuse at the hands of their caregivers.
So what can be done to support Britain’s children, and get them to safety? Woman’s Own remembers five tragic cases of children who didn’t get the help they so desperately needed before it was too late.
JACOB CROUCH, 10 MONTHS
The injuries sustained by Jacob at the end of his short life were so severe, they were akin to those suffered in a car crash. His mum Gemma Barton, 33, and stepdad Craig Crouch, 39, were arrested on suspicion of his murder after finding him dead in his cot on 30 December 2020. Jacob’s death came as a result of repeated physical abuse at the hands of Crouch. The tot had 39 rib fractures, 19 visible bruises and internal injuries including a traumatic bowel perforation that led to a fatal infection.
In interrogations, Crouch described his love of children – but the sick truth was soon revealed, including disturbing messages between him and Barton about bathing the little boy ‘in bleach’, which Crouch dismissed as ‘banter’. Craig Crouch was sentenced to a minimum of 28 years for Jacob’s murder, and Gemma Barton to 10 years for child cruelty and causing or allowing the death of a child.
LOLA JAMES, TWO
Sinead James met her partner Kyle Bevan just once before inviting him to move in with her and her daughter Lola. Messages between Bevan and James dating back to April 2020 show Lola getting injured on a number of occasions while in the care of Bevan, who h
