A monster babysitter who sexually abused a toddler and beat him to death is expected to serve his full sentence after concerns he could be released from prison early.
Joshua Cook was 17 years old when he punched and kicked helpless one-year-old baby Charlie Johnson before hurling him into a fireplace. The assault was so horrific that Mr Justice Grigson, presiding over the case in Bradford Crown Court, said he could find 'no suitable words' to describe the actions of Cook when he sentenced him to life in prison for murder in June 2008.
The 22-month-old tot suffered horrific head injuries and severe brain damage, meaning surgeons could not save him. Cook had been spotted carrying Charlie's body down the street by a neighbour who called 999 and tried to resuscitate him, Yorkshire Live reports.
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Cook was given a life term with a minimum of 18 years in jail in 2008. But in 2018, The Sun reported Cook was being prepared for release less than 10 years into his time behind bars. It came after Charlie's parents, Georgina Fisher and Kevin Johnson, from Scarborough, received a letter from the Ministry of Justice.
The letter stated that a minimum term can be considered by the High Court once the offender has served half of their sentence - nine years in Cook's case. It said this only happened "in exceptional circumstances of progress and development made by the offender."
But Yorkshire Live understands Cook has not been considered for release. A spokesperson for the Parole Board said: "He is not eligible for release yet and has not been referred for his parole review by the Secretary of State yet."
Cook had been hired to babysit Charlie and his two siblings by their mum, Georgina. He had been recommended to Georgina, who had recently split up with the children's dad, Kevin, by his own mum.
Georgina paid Cook £10 per night while she worked night shifts as a barmaid at a local pub - with Cook's mum. In the week leading up to little Charlie's murder, his siblings had told Georgina that they did not want to be left alone with Cook. They said they did not like him, but Georgina has previously said she did not think much of it as her children "weren't making a huge thing of it" and it was "a throwaway remark."
"I later learned he would hold them under covers until they could hardly breathe," she told The Sun. "It was horseplay but they didn't like it. Now I wish I had listened to them more but they weren't making a huge thing of it."
A trial at Bradford Crown Court heard Cook had punched and smacked Charlie around the head and body, shaken him violently and thrown him into a fireplace where he hit his head during a "sustained and violent" attack. A post mortem examination also showed he had been sexually assaulted on more than one occasion.
Sentencing Cook to life in prison with a minimum term of 18 years, Mr Justice Grigson said Charlie "must have had the most terrible pain throughout that awful experience." He branded Cook a danger to the public before sending him down.
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