Dad who subjected his sons to life of 'squalor' faces jail

2:58pm Tuesday 22nd July 2008

A dad who assaulted his children and subjected them to a life of "squalor" has been warned he is likely to be jailed.

The 39-year-old, from Englefield Green, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to cruelty against his two sons by wilfully assaulting, abandoning, neglecting or exposing them to ill treatment, unnecessary suffering and damage to health.

Nicola Merrick, prosecuting, told a judge at Guildford Crown Court on Monday that the persistent attacks on the boys sometimes happened in front of other children.

The offences occured between February 2000 and March 2006.

Ms Merrick said: "Over that period of years the children lived in complete squalor."

She described the defendant and his wife, who is also awaiting sentence, as: "Wholly and utterly inadequate people and certainly wholly and utterly inadequate parents."

The boys, who suffered attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder have now been fostered and are doing well, it was said.

The dad was released on conditional bail until he is sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court in September.

Judge Anna Guggenheim said: "The defendant must be under no illusion that because I have granted bail today a custodial sentence is not likely."

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