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Young Couple Jailed For Abusing Children

5:02pm Monday September 13, 2010

A couple who subjected two young boys to appalling abuse have each been locked up for two years.



Ricky Winter and Kristina Davies were both locked up for two years

Kristina Davies, 19, and Ricky Winter, 23, inflicted terrible injuries on the youngsters, both aged under four, including fractured bones, bruises and bites to their private parts. Winter will serve his sentence in an adult prison while Davies will spend two years in a youth institute. One expert witness, a paediatrician, said the case was the worst he encountered in 30 years.

Davies and Winter, both of Canterbury Road, Margate, would force the boys to stand in a corner with their hands on their heads for long periods of time and screamed in their faces on numerous occasions. The couple had pleaded not guilty to eight counts of child neglect but earlier this month were convicted of the charges by a jury at Canterbury Crown Court.

Acting Det Sgt Paul Deslandes, who led the investigation, said: "This was a particularly harrowing case and the children suffered truly sickening injuries. "Our child abuse investigation unit acted swiftly in response to concerns from a number of members of the public about the boys' welfare and, together with social services, we took the children away from a dangerous situation and prevented them from coming to any further harm.

"I would like to thank all the witnesses involved in the case for providing evidence and helping bring the defendants to justice." The case comes a week after the NSPCC launched a new campaign urging people who feared children might be being abused to alert authorities.