Girl, 12, raped so she would have a baby for evil mum and stepdad
The mum had been sterilised so couple tried to use daughter as a surrogate
The young girl’s step-father raped her three times before their plan of making her pregnant succeeded, a judge has heard.
The couple, from Warwickshire, who cannot be named to protect the girl’s identity, had denied a charge of conspiracy to rape and child cruelty.
What were the charges and sentences?
But on the day of their trial at Warwick Crown Court, the step-father pleaded guilty to two charges of raping her – and her mother’s plea of guilty to child cruelty was accepted.After ruling that the step-father is likely to pose an ongoing danger to children, Judge Andrew Lockhart QC jailed him for 18 years as part of an extended prison sentence.
He will have to serve at least 12 years of that term, and even then will only be released when the Parole Board considers it safe to do so, after which he will be on licence for the rest of the period and for a further eight years.
The girl’s mother, who the judge said had "actively encouraged her to become pregnant", was jailed for six years and three months but, unlike her husband, will not have to register as a sex offender.
The judge said there were two victims, not just the girl but her baby who, having been taken into care, has been "deprived of the right to be brought up by her own mother", and who may later learn she had been conceived "by reason of her grandmother’s neglect" and rape by her mother’s step-father.
So what happened exactly?
Prosecutor Steven Bailey said that after separating from her natural father, the girl’s mother began a relationship with the male defendant and an ‘unhealthy atmosphere’ developed in their home, with the man mistreating the children in various ways, and their mother taking his side against them.The woman had been sterilised and was told by her GP that it could not be reversed.
“That did not please the defendants,” said Mr Bailey. “With no regard for the feelings of the girl, let alone the baby they were about to force on her, the plan was for him to have sex with her to get her pregnant as a surrogate.
“The girl says her mother told her they wanted her to get pregnant by him, and her mother is on record as describing the pregnancy as a Godsend.”
The girl had been raped three times, each time after her cycle had been monitored to ensure it took place at the best time for her to conceive.
Mr Bailey said that, because of her pleas, he could not say the mother was party to the actual rapes, "but she sought to take advantage of it for her own ends".
When, after the third rape, the pregnancy was confirmed by their GP, the mother said that her daughter had had sex with a lad during a sleep-over at a friend’s home.
Because of her young age, the question of the 12-year-old having a termination was raised – but "both defendants rejected such a notion" and said they would bring the baby up as their own.
The truth slowly began to emerge after the girl told a teacher that her step-father had "made me do it three times".
“Those and other disclosures, including when she told a social worker that he had had sex with her and was the father of her baby, led to her first interview with the police.
Her early accounts were that he had dragged her into a bedroom and raped her while her mother was out – but gradually her mother’s involvement, including keeping tabs on her cycle to ensure sex took place at the optimum time, emerged.
And when her step-father was arrested, his first reaction was to tell officers to "look closer to home", and that they should arrest her mother as well.
After she was arrested, the mother confirmed that she and her partner were planning to bring up the baby as their own, with her having pretended to be pregnant.
At first she said she did not know who the father was, but then claimed it was her partner’s idea to use the girl as a surrogate and that she had told him to leave her alone.
But the girl confided in a teacher that her mother had ‘sacrificed’ her for the chance of a baby, adding: “She made me do it. He raped me, but she asked me to do it, my own mum.”
Her step-father, who at one point even suggested that the girl’s mother had artificially inseminated her with semen obtained while he was asleep, defiantly denied raping her, claiming sex had been consensual, said Mr Bailey, pointing out: “It was not.”
Amy Jackson, for the step-father, said: “He fully accepts what he did to this young girl. He says he’s sorry for what happened, and that they should not have put her through it.
“This is a grave and unusual case. It is born of a selfish wish by these defendants to have a child, and the use of a child to achieve those desires.”
What was said in defence?
Nick Devine, for the girl’s mother, said: “I accept this is a serious and unpleasant case. She only has herself to blame, but she has lost everything in her life as a result.”What did the judge say?
Jailing the couple, Judge Lockhart said: “It is the responsibility of those with the gift of children to look after them and prepare them for life with love and kindness.“Great trust is placed in the hands of those who are parents; and when that trust is broken, great damage is done to the child and to society.
“You planned to have a child together, but were told it was not possible. You both then decided that one way forward would be for her to become pregnant and for you to raise the child.
“That was a wicked thing to do. It had no regard for her age or for the future damage it would do, or for her welfare or the welfare of any child that might be born.
“This was not just rape, but rape with the intention of ensuring the pregnancy of a 12-year-old child.”
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