9:37am Thursday 18th March 2010
THE mother of a toddler who had suffered injuries including two broken arms was given a suspended jail sentence yesterday.
Dillon Johnson was taken to the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, by his grandmother.
Doctors found he also had 31 bruises and six abrasions.
Paul Cleasby, prosecuting, said his mother, Catherine Johnson, 21, told police that the two-and-a-half-year-old had suffered two falls, but doctors dismissed that as a possible cause of the injuries.
The judge at Teesside Crown Court said the cause of the injuries remained a mystery.
Johnson, of Mill Lane, Askrigg, Leyburn, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to child cruelty by wilful neglect on March 20, last year.
Martin Towers, in mitigation, said Johnson had been examined by a psychiatrist, who said she showed early signs of depression.
He said that since her arrest, she had been allowed twice-weekly visits with the youngster at the home of her mother, Christine Johnson, or at her sister’s.
Mr Towers said: “It is a serious matter, but reports say that she would benefit longterm from supervision.”
Judge Tony Briggs said: “No responsible local authority would allow her to have care of the child until matters which at present seem mysterious are resolved.
“This is an extremely difficult case, and it is not helped by an apparent reluctance on your part to say what happened.
“This child had been clearly seriously injured and you did seriously neglect your care of it. In the normal circumstances, an immediate custodial sentence is required.
“I have to bear in mind not just your own particular situation, which remains something of a mystery, but also the likely effect it may have if you went to prison, not only on your parents, who are the principal carers of the child, but also on the child himself.
“I find this an extremely difficult matter, but I find it just possible not to send you to prison today.”
Johnson was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for two years, with supervision for 18 months.
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