Long prison sentence for parents Child dies after "extreme vegan diet"
The judge cannot imagine a worse case of neglect. Now a couple in the UK are facing many years in prison.
13.12.2024, 00:00
dpa
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- In the UK, the parents of a three-year-old boy who died of malnutrition have been sentenced to long prison terms.
- The parents had imposed an "extreme vegan diet" on the child and thus contributed to his starvation, the judge explained.
- The parents must spend a long time behind bars. The father was sentenced to 24.5 years and the mother to 19.5 years.
- "It is difficult to imagine a worse case of neglect than the one that came before the court here," said the judge.
A three-year-old boy has died of severe malnutrition in the UK. A court ruled that his parents were to blame and sent the couple to prison for a long time. The father was sentenced to 24.5 years and the mother to 19.5 years.
The British news agency PA quoted the judge in the city of Coventry as saying that the parents had imposed an "extreme vegan diet" on the child and thus contributed to it starving to death. The severe malnutrition had led to rickets, anemia and stunted growth.
They buried their son behind the house
"It is hard to imagine a worse case of neglect than the one that has come before the court here," the judge said. The child was severely stunted in growth - when he died aged just four, he was buried in the clothes of an 18-month-old child.
The couple lived independently of public care and had developed their own belief system based on a mixture of elements from New Age mysticism and West African religions.
The parents buried their son's body behind their house - it was only found long after they had moved out.
