EXCLUSIVEMother allowed her partner to beat her two year old daughter until she suffered severe brain damage - then failed to call 999 for 19 hours
A mother who allowed her cannabis-obsessed boyfriend to beat her daughter so badly that she was left disabled after suffering severe brain damage has been jailed for eight years.
Amy Skelton, 28, left her two-year-old child alone with her partner Steven Silkstone in her home for just 26 minutes on August 10, 2017.
Silkstone, formerly of East Herringthorpe, Rotherham, caused 'devastating injuries' to the child and is believed to have used a blunt object to carry out the assault whilst Skelton was at the supermarket.
Skelton returned home and instead of seeking urgent medical help, left the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, to deteriorate overnight.
She then left her daughter alone with heavy cannabis user Silkstone twice more over the next 19 hours while she visited a tattoo parlour, had a night out and spent time in a McDonald's.
Her child was left with multiple brain injuries and bruising to the scalp on both sides of the face, upper chest, and both thighs, with the pattern of the bruising to the right thigh considered to be a human bite mark - which was delivered by Skelton.
Sheffield Crown Court heard that the toddler, referred to as A in court, had been 'the most beautiful' and happy girl who loved to play and dance before Silkstone came into the Skelton's life in April or May of 2017, when they were both 20.
Silkstone, who was sentenced to 20 years behind bars, is believed to have inflicted three earlier serious injuries on the girl between June 1 and July 7 the same year - shortly after getting together with Skelton.
Amy Skelton (pictured) left her two-year-old child alone with her partner Steven Silkstone in her home for just 26 minutes on August 10, 2017
Following the attacks, the child was discovered to have multicompartmental, intracranial subdural haemorrhages, spinal subdural haemorrhages, progressive hypoxic-ischaemic brain damage, bilateral and multiple retinal haemorrhages.
As well as this, she was left with spastic quadriplegia, a severe form of cerebral palsy that affects all four limbs, meaning she cannot walk, sit or stand independently, and has to be hoisted for all activities.
A contempt of court hearing was held today after the victim's first name was published on social media, but has since been removed.
Judge Barry Cotter clarified during the hearing what his order restricted following submissions from MailOnline and confirmed Skelton can be named as the victim's mother.
After Skelton was sentenced, her grandmother Rosemary recalled how the granddaughter only showed emotion ‘when the police took her phone off her'.
Mrs Bowman said: 'It has taken seven years to get to this stage. She was just a tiny, tiny baby when they did what they did to her.
'By rights she should be dead and she has five top specialists and even they and the judge said by the grace of God they are not standing there on murder charges.
Silkstone, formerly of East Herringthorpe, Rotherham, caused 'devastating injuries' to the child and is believed to have used a blunt object to carry out the assault
'With the very last injury, we thought they had sent for the ambulance, but they left that baby lying all night suffering before they called for them the next day.
'The ambulance men went in and took one look at her and blue lighted her and took her away to hospital, but the only time Amy showed any emotion was when the police took her phone off her. She was never a caring, loving mum in that respect.
'She would get a bit short with her, and I said you need a bit of patience, but never in my wildest dreams did I imagine it would come to this. She even bit her own child so badly.'
And John Bowman, Skelton’s uncle, told the Mail the family had disowned her since the horrific injuries came to light.
Within just over a month of Skelton meeting Silkstone, close relatives feared for the child's safety.
During a family event on June 2, a relative noticed her right ear was bent forward, due to swelling.
Judge Barry Cotter said as he sentenced the pair: 'Even when advised to you delayed taking A to hospital.
'Your explanation for the injuries was that she had fallen out of her bed onto some toys. However as indicated in the expert evidence it was not a plausible explanation for the injuries.'
Dr Nader Khandanpour told the court she must have suffered two or three blows on that occasion, for the level of injury.
Skelton was given advice about head injuries including about watching out for a fit, by the hospital, but Judge Cotter said she would later ignore this.
On June 9 she was seen by relatives with a 'hideous black eye' and her 'accomplished liar' mother admitted to some that she was '50/50' in the belief that Silkstone was assaulting her daughter.
Yet, she continued to live with him and lied to the girl's father, referred to as BB in court, that their daughter had received the black eye from falling downstairs.
Speaking after the sentencing, BB said his daughter's injuries led social services to believe he was a suspect in the abuse.
He said: 'The worst thing is that Rotherham Social Services were made aware of the three previous injuries she received, but they kept giving her back to her mother.
Silkstone, who was sentenced to 20 years behind bars, is believed to have inflicted three earlier serious injuries on the girl between June 1 and July 7 the same year.
'A week before the worst injury I showed the social worker a picture of her with a serious injury and black eye, but they didn't take it seriously. The social worker was off at the time it happened.
'Social services even had me as a suspect for the first four months even though the police never did.'
When a relative called NHS 111 about the injury, Judge Cotter said Skelton was 'not frank with the doctor' and would not allow them to see the girl to inspect the extent of the injury.
Less than a month later, on July 7, the girl suffered further injuries, including a large left-sided swelling over the left side of the face, a bruise to left ear which was not consistent with a fall and other bruises.
Skelton again told lies that she had fallen downstairs while she was in the bathroom, the court heard.
Grandmother Rosemary told the court that by July she was scared to go back to her home and was 'shutting down' while her hair began to fall out.
Judge Cotter added: 'She was suffering at your hands and in your care. I am satisfied that given the first occasion was inflicted injury that as regards the second and third incidents you [the mother] either assaulted A or were fully aware of the risk that she would be further seriously assaulted. You lied about all of these incidents to the Doctors and your family.
'As for you Silkstone it is in my judgment probable that you were responsible for all or some of the injuries on these earlier occasions; but that it is probable is not enough. Determining what exactly happened is complicated by the fact that [her mother] also was to assault A by biting her, so was capable of inexplicably directly inflicting injury upon her own daughter. She is also an accomplished liar.'
Relatives said before Silkstone's arrival that the girl was 'into everything' with 'boundless energy' and 'would light up any room’. But, after the relationship started family members noticed a change in her.
On Thursday, August 10 2017, she spent a happy day with her father and grandmother, but became withdrawn as the time came for her to go back to her mother's, where she returned at 4.30pm.
The court heard that Silkstone had been consuming cannabis when he was left alone with the girl as the mother went to a supermarket at 8.15pm.
Judge Cotter said: 'Between 8.15pm and 8.41pm, in circumstances only you know, Silkstone you assaulted A with intent to cause her really serious harm. I have no doubt that she was shaken and also suffered an impact to the head.
'As a matter of common sense the forces involved in the violence were considerable. The experts said the effect of the brain damage caused by the assault was quickly apparent as A fitted.'
Skeleton called her own mother but ignored her advice to seek urgent medical attention.
Instead, she went out to a tattoo parlour with a friend. The business owner Christopher Swift told the court Silkstone phoned her to say the child was not breathing properly, but she was not 'terribly concerned' and was more interested in going out that night.
Sheffield Crown Court heard that the girl had been 'the most beautiful' and happy girl who loved to play and dance before Silkstone came into the mother's life in 2017
Skeleton returned home between 1.30am and 2am and found her child still vomiting but, still, no medial help was sought overnight.
She left Silkstone alone with the child again when she went to a McDonald's the next day. The pair did not call for medical help until 3.51pm on August 11.
Judge Cotter said: 'As time progressed the intracranial pressure increased and it will have been obvious that A was becoming increasingly unwell; she was drowsy and vomiting and you left it until she was just about to die.
'Even then Silkstone you did not call an ambulance but called [her mother] instead. She was in McDonald's, indicating her level of concern for her daughter.
'When the paramedics arrived you were not truthful talking of spontaneous, random bruises and [made] no mention of the fit the previous evening and saying A had a spontaneous random collapse and became unresponsive.
'The medical attention given from the point that paramedics attended through to lifesaving complex operation at Sheffield Children's hospital to relieve the intracranial pressure and fit a titanium plate was exemplary. It saved A's life; it prevented you Silkstone facing a murder conviction with a mandatory life sentence.'
After a police investigation, Silkstone was charged with GBH with intent and child cruelty while Skeleton was charged with causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm, assault for the bite and cruelty to a child.
They denied the offences and were convicted after a trial that was seriously delayed, due to resources and complexities.
Both defendants were on bail throughout the lengthy investigation, but were remanded in custody after being found guilty on November 26 before sentence on December 20.
A CPS spokesperson said of the delay: 'The case rested on a range of medical experts, given the case in question related to allegations of infliction of injuries to a child. None of the medical experts who had been instructed in the separate Family Court, were available for the criminal investigation.
'This meant other experts had to be identified, instructed, and their expert reports considered. This was accepted by the Judge in his sentencing remarks, who emphasises this in paragraph 77 of the judgement. The judge additionally recognising the complexity of the allegation.'
Both were on bail throughout the investigation and subsequent criminal proceedings until their convictions. Following conviction on 26 November both were remanded in custody until the sentence hearing on 20 December.
Judge Cotter said: 'You have both been convicted of serious offences arising out of the devastating injures suffered by A during the evening of 10th August 2017 in her own home and subsequent failure to gain any medical assistance period after the assault up to the point that the 999-call was made at 3.51pm the following day.
'Dr Khandanpour said that the most likely mechanism of trauma explaining such a combination of injuries was severe "to and fro" shaking although shaken baby injuries usually occur in children younger than two years old.
The court heard that after the last attack, the two-year-old was discovered to have multicompartmental, intracranial subdural haemorrhages, and spinal subdural haemorrhages
'There has also been most probably trauma from a blunt object to the left side of the skull. The severity of the cerebral damage was within the spectrum of most severe type of head injuries and the assault caused brain damage which has left A very severely disabled.
'She has been robbed of the life she should have enjoyed. The effects are permanent and devastating.'
Now approaching 10, the girl has lived with devoted foster carers for the last seven years and requires adult support for all daily, living, activities.
She has been left with severe visual problems and severe learning difficulties, with very limited language and words. She can manage a three word sentence. She also communicates by smiling, crying and gesturing.
Feeding difficulties mean the child is prone to choking, lung infection and malnutrition. She is fed in part through a tube, suffers seizures and has developed hip dislocation due to the stiffness of her lower limbs.
She will need life long care and has the support of nine specialist services.
Sentencing the pair, Judge Cotter said jobless Silkstone's central interest in life was smoking cannabis.
He said: 'You admitted to six spliffs a day; probably an underestimate. You had gone out (for) some cannabis before you assaulted A and returned under the influence.
'I make it clear that I am sure that you can remember far more than you have said to the police and in this court and cannabis has not robbed you of your memory completely; rather it is a convenient excuse for not giving an explanation
'You knew that a number of people believed that you were assaulting A and on July 19 posted on Facebook "playground stuff people need to; grow the f** up". These concerns did not cause you to alter your behaviour.
'You could not even bring yourself to stay at the hospital when you must have realised that A was fighting for her life. You went home and as you stated then smoked cannabis.'
To the mother, he added: 'It is clear that your relationship with Silkstone became far more important that ensuring A's health and welfare.
'You ignored the warnings from a wide range of people; friends and from both sides of your family that A was at risk from Steven Silkstone.'
He said she broke off contact with her own father and threatened the girl's father that he could no longer see her.
He added: 'At some stage you inexplicably assaulted A yourself by biting her on the left thigh. After the assault when you returned home you knew that A had fitted and was potentially seriously ill.
The mother received eight years in prison for causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm
'You lied to your mother; ignoring her obviously sensible advice. You both knew that she had unexplained bruising and it was obvious that medical investigation was necessary as she had been fitting and vomiting. You also lied in calculating fashion to your mother about A being fine on the morning of 11th; you knew that was not the case.
'You have exhibited indifference to A's health and welfare and prioritised your happiness. You decided to go to the tattoo parlour although you knew she was ill. It was not even for your own tattoo; and this shows how low down on your list of priorities A was.
'You decided to go to McDonalds when you knew she was ill. Even then what Silkstone wanted to eat was more important than the welfare of your child.
'Whilst she was being treated in the resuscitation room you were more interested in spending time with Steven Silkstone before he got his taxi. You only showed any real emotion when your phone was seized on arrest. It was a telling indication of your priorities.
'As I have set out, the effects have been truly devastating. There will not be many cases with more serious injury and the effects suffered for virtually the whole of a life. She came very close to death and has lost much semblance of a normal life.'
He sentenced Silkstone to 15 years for GBH with intent and five years, to run concurrently, for child cruelty.
The mother got eight years for causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm, with concurrent sentences of 14 days for the assault and five years for child cruelty.
Detective Sergeant Peter Hodgson, the officer in charge of this case, said: 'This is one of the most upsetting cases I have come across in my 34 years of policing. We worked extremely hard to bring the defendants before the court, with our investigation comprising of 85 statements in total.
'This included six medical experts who gave evidence during the eight-week trial. I'd like to extend my heartfelt thanks to those closest to the young victim who stood up in court to offer evidence and support our case. I hope the sentences handed to the defendants will go some way to providing a sense of justice.'
A Rotherham Social Services spokesperson said: 'We are deeply saddened by the harm caused to this child in 2017, and our thoughts remain with everyone affected by this case. Safeguarding children is the responsibility of everyone, and it remains our highest priority as a Council.
'Rotherham Council is fully committed to protecting and supporting children and young people across the borough. We continue to work closely with our partners and communities to strengthen safeguarding systems and provide the support needed to protect every child in Rotherham.
'We do not comment on the details of individual cases'.
