TWO people from Nuneaton have been sentenced to 18 months for child neglect.
Liam Brock, 29, and Charlotte Hayward, 31, both of King Edward Road in Nuneaton were sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on April, 26.
They are also required to pay £156 victim’s surcharge.
The investigations started after a young child went to hospital with head injuries on June, 2, 2022.
Brock and Hayward, were looking after the child at the time and initially said that he had fallen off a chair.
Blood taken from Hayward and Brock showed benzoylecgonine – a chemical formed as the body breaks down cocaine – showing they had been under the influence or coming down from cocaine at the time.
A video showed that the child had climbed out of an open window and fallen, before a witness found him.
The witness knocked on the door but did not get a response and 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.”
