Wolverhampton's real life 'Cinderella': Police chief calls for 'strongest punishments' for mother and stepfather
A top police chief has called on courts to hand out the 'strongest punishments' for extreme cases of child cruelty.
David Jamieson, the Police and Crime Commissioner for the West Midlands, made the comments after a backlash over two four-year sentences handed to a mother and stepfather for putting a girl through years of misery.
The Wolverhampton girl, dubbed the real life 'Cinderella', was banished to an outhouse for a year, staved of food and forced to wear cast-off clothes. She became so hungry she took food out of bins, begged strangers for help and even took to biting her own arm. The girl also ended up with trench foot.
On Monday her mother and stepfather were locked up for four years three months each for child cruetly, but Express & Star readers vented their fury at the sentence, with 99 per cent of nearly 8,000 people calling for a longer jail term.
Mr Jamieson has also shared his thoughts on the case, describing it as 'horrific' and calling for the UK's courts to adminster the strongest punishments in cases like these.
He said: “This is a horrific case of child cruelty. How any parent could contemplate treating their child like this is truly beyond belief.
"I am pleased to see that West Midlands Police acted quickly and without hesitation once informed of the girl’s treatment.
"Forcing anybody to live in these conditions is abhorrent. Forcing a child to endure them must attract the strongest punishments by our courts."
