A woman from Croydon who subjected her children to unnecessary and invasive medical examinations, leading to them receiving surgery and medication they did not need so she could claim benefits, has been jailed today, Monday 15 August, for seven and a half years.
The 48-year old – who cannot be named – was convicted of child cruelty and fraud offences in relation to falsely claimed benefits following a trial at Croydon Crown Court on Monday, 18 July.
The conviction follows a three-year investigation by detectives from the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, which was launched following a child protection referral in May 2013, following concerns that the woman exaggerated and falsified the illness of her children to health professionals.
The court heard that over the course of at least ten years, the mother presented her young son and daughter to various doctors, health and education professionals, maintaining that they suffered from serious health conditions and a series of symptoms and complaints which ranged from severe asthma, autism, urology problems and gastric complications.
As a result her children underwent unnecessary medical treatment, including surgery to have gastronomy tubes fitted to their stomachs, enabling them to be fed through a tube despite the fact that both children were perfectly able to eat normally.
Steroid medication was also administered to her son despite the fact that he did not display the signs of ‘severe’ asthma as the woman insisted and did not display chronic wheezing and breathlessness she reported to doctors when he was at school.
The woman also encouraged her son to show behaviours which she believed were consistent with autism, and resisted attempts by the child’s nursery to toilet train him. However, despite her description of behaviours he displayed at home, none of the traits were witnessed at school.
As a result of the fabricated illnesses she received £87,424.25 in Disability Living Allowance, between October 2003 and February 2014; and despite living with her partner, who was earning up to £38,000 a year, falsely claimed Income Support benefit. As a result, the total amount of falsely claimed benefit was £375,198.02.
Detectives attended the home address in May 2013 and arrested the woman and her partner for child cruelty and neglect. During a search of the property a large amount of unused prescribed medication including asthma drugs, nappies and gastro milk and feeding equipment, with an estimated cost to the NHS of £145,870, was found.
Investigating Officer, Detective Sergeant Stuart Parsons, Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Command, said:
“This truly was a complex investigation, where the evidence we painstaking gathered has resulted in the jury convicting a woman who committed cruelty against her own children for financial gain.
“The investigation was meticulous and detailed, and in order to prove the offences we looked at all aspects of the family, their lifestyle and their financial, medical and education history. The level of detail required would not have been possible if it were not for the multi-agency work that took place between the police and other partner agencies such as social services, the local education authority, the Department for Work and Pensions and a number of healthcare providers including local care at home teams.
“One hundred and fourteen witnesses provided evidence for the prosecution, including a number of experts who interpreted complex medical and psychological information for the court to consider.
“It is staggering to think that the mother’s willful actions resulted in the children undergoing unnecessary surgical and medical interventions. She lied at every opportunity, presenting herself as a lone parent coping with ill and vulnerable children. The reality was that she resided with her partner and fabricated her children’s conditions for personal financial gain.”
+ Full list of offences the woman was found guilty of:
– Four counts of cruelty to a person under 16;
– Two counts of obtaining money transfer by deception;
– Seven counts of making a false representation;
– Two counts of fraud by false representation.