Two sentenced to 18 months for child neglect

Liam Brock, 29, and Charlotte Hayward, 31, both of King Edward Road in Nuneaton, have been sentenced to 18 months each in prison for child neglect.

They are both also required to pay a £156 victim’s surcharge.

The sentence was passed in Warwick Crown Court on 26 April after both Brock and Hayward pleaded guilty to the charges.

Investigations followed the appearance of a young child in hospital with head injuries on 2 June 2022.

Brock and Hayward, who had been looking after the child at the time, initially said that he had fallen off a chair.

Forensic investigation of blood taken from Hayward and Brock showed the presence of benzoylecgonine – a chemical formed as the body breaks down cocaine – showing that they had both been under the influence of or coming down from cocaine at the time that the child had hurt themself.

Video evidence showed that the child had climbed out of an open window and fallen, before being discovered by a witness.

The witness then tried to get Hayward and Brock’s attention by knocking at the door but was unable to get a response.

The child was later collected by Hayward from the witness’s house and taken to hospital.

Investigating officer DC Manders from the Child Abuse, Trafficking, and Exploitation (CATE) team said “If you are caring for young children, you need to be aware of what they’re up to so that they do not hurt themselves.

“Part of this means that, particularly if the child is under seven years old, you need to be sober enough and cogent enough to know where they are, what they’re doing, and to be able to respond if they’re in trouble.

“Brock and Hayward need to seriously consider their responsibilities if they are going to be looking after children in future – I hope they will use their time in prison to reflect on their failure to protect the child from the harm suffered.”