Express & Star readers fury over ordeal of ‘real-life Cinderella’

The girl was banished to an outhouse for 12 months in what has been described as a ‘real life Cinderella’ case.

She was locked out of her family’s Wolverhampton home at night, starved of food and forced to wear cast-off clothes – while her brother and sisters lived a full, normal life.

The girl’s mother, aged in her 40s and now pregnant with her fifth child, along with her stepfather, also in his 40s, have each been jailed for four years and three months after admitting child cruelty.

• Express & Star Comment: Cruelty is beyond contempt

But the case has sparked a furious reaction, with the couple’s sentence attacked as ‘too lenient’.

After they were sentenced an NSPCC boss described the girl’s treatment as ‘barbaric’ and said the case ‘served as a warning’ to everyone to be vigilant in spotting signs of child cruelty.

Express & Star readers questioned whether the sentence was tough enough, with 99 per cent of 5,700 poll respondents so far saying the couple should have been jailed for longer.

Lorraine Slattery said: “They should have got a lot longer. Poor child I hope she gets all the help she needs to get her life back on track and finds good foster parents.”

Narinder Dhaliwal said: “Disgusting sentence. Poor poor child. On the doorstep of us all and horrifying that it goes on. How did it go on for four years undetected by anyone.”

Alison Lewis posted: “Can’t believe they only got four years for this barbaric treatment of this poor girl.”

Sarah Standley wrote: “Four-year sentences? Where is the justice in that?”

The maximum sentence for child cruelty according to the Sentencing Council is 10 years.

For a Category 2 offence sentences range from two to five years.

Judge Amjad Nawaz, sitting at Wolverhampton Crown Court, sentenced the pair in the Wolverhampton case on Monday.

They were given a 10 per cent reduction on their sentences for pleading guilty before a trial.

Sandra McNair, NSPCC West Midlands head of service, said: “Instead of love and affection, this vulnerable victim was forced to endure barbaric treatment at the hands of adults who should have been caring and attentive.

“No child should ever have to forage through bins for scraps of food or sleep outside in the freezing cold.

“This case serves as a warning to everyone that we must all be vigilant in spotting the signs of child neglect and cruelty.

Anyone concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000.

Children can speak to a dedicated counsellor at Childline free and confidentially on 0800 1111 or via childline.org.uk.”

West Midlands Police said it moved swiftly to protect the child and arrest the mother and stepfather after officers had been informed of the cruelty.

Det Sgt Catherine Loosemore, from the force’s Public Protection Unit, said: “As soon as we were alerted to the child’s ill-treatment, we moved swiftly to arrest those responsible for her well-being.

"They initially denied the abuse, saying that it was the girl’s choice to sleep outside and that she was fed, but made herself sick, accounting for her small frame.

"At the time she was wearing the clothes of a seven-year-old and these were dirty and secondhand.

"As soon as she was taken into foster care, she quickly began to gain weight and slowly felt safe enough to talk about how she had been bullied at school as a result of her home life and poor hygiene.

“She had been frightened of her stepfather who had threatened her on many occasions and she couldn’t understand why she alone suffered this abuse.

“Although she has recovered physically, the mental scars remain, but I hope with time and the happy home she now finds herself in, she will be able to feel the love and stability that she deserves.”