Cheshire Mother Who Hid Child In Drawer From Birth Jailed

A mother who kept her baby daughter hidden in a drawer for the first three years of her life has been jailed for seven years and six months for “extreme neglect”.

The girl, who prosecutors said had “never known daylight or fresh air”, was only discovered when a visitor to their house in Cheshire heard her crying.

To protect the girl, neither she nor members of her family can be identified.

The girl’s mother, who admitted four charges of child cruelty at a previous hearing, was sentenced at Chester Crown Court.

Judge Steven Everett said the woman had “starved that little girl of any love, any proper affection, any proper attention, any interaction with others, a proper diet, much-needed medical attention

“An intelligent little girl who is now perhaps slowly coming to life, from what was almost a living death in that room,” he added.

The court was told the mother concealed the baby’s presence from her siblings by hiding her in the drawer of her divan bed, and kept her secret from her partner, who often stayed at the house.

Rachel Worthington, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said the child did not respond to her own name when found, and had been left alone for long periods to “fend for herself” without enough food.