A woman jailed for injecting a child with faeces has seen her prison sentence increased by judges at the Court of Appeal. The actions of Elizabeth Faragher, 43, formerly of Albert Street, Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, meant the youngster suffered “extreme pain and distress” and was left with “deep muscle scarring and multiple scars”, the court was told.
In April, Faragher admitted one count of cruelty to a person under 16 and five counts of administering a poison or noxious substance with intent. She was jailed for five years and 10 months at Preston Crown Court in July. Her sentence was increased to eight years at a hearing on Friday after her case was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) under the unduly lenient sentence scheme.
Lord Justice Edis, sitting with Mr Justice Dove and Mrs Justice Steyn, described the case as “difficult and distressing”. Nicholas Hearn, for the AGO, told the judges the original sentence “did not reflect the cumulative seriousness of the offences” and was “unduly lenient”.
A written reference from the AGO to the court said the child was frequently taken to see medical staff and found to be suffering from infections across their body with “faecal organisms” present. Doctors “could not identify a medical explanation”, with the youngster required to undergo “invasive” and “painful” tests, including a bone marrow extraction.
Clinicians later realised the infections had been “induced” by Faragher injecting the child with “faecal matter”. Faragher, who joined Friday’s hearing via video link and sat with her head bowed throughout, did not explain her actions.
Rosalind Emsley-Smith, representing Faragher, told the court there had been no error in the calculation of her sentence, with the judge taking her “vulnerability and fragility” into account. Faragher had issues with alcohol, sometimes drinking two bottles of vodka a day, and had struggled to cope with a bereavement, the court was told.
Lord Justice Edis said the Court of Appeal concluded the sentencing judge was “led into error” when handing Faragher her jail term, which was “unduly lenient”.
“We simply cannot describe this offence of cruelty as anything other than serious, indeed very serious,” he said. He said there had been “attempts to cause the child harm”, exposing them “to a very serious risk of illness and further grave harm”.
Speaking after the hearing, Solicitor General Michael Tomlinson said: “This was a deeply upsetting case of child cruelty and it was clear to me that Elizabeth Faragher’s shocking actions warranted a stronger prison sentence. Today’s verdict shows that all forms of cruelty to children will be met with the strongest possible punishment.”
