Tony Hudgell: Shock after abused child's mother moves to open prison

The adoptive parents of a boy who had both legs amputated because of abuse by his birth parents have said they were "very shocked" to learn his mother has applied for day release from prison.

Tony Hudgell, from Kings Hill, Kent, was abused by Jody Simpson and Tony Smith as a baby.

The pair were sentenced to 10 years in prison in February 2018.

Paula Hudgell, Tony's adoptive mother, said Simpson had also been moved to an open prison.

Mrs Hudgell said: "I was really upset to know that she'd actually asked for day release, and also that she'd been released to an open prison.

"It's heart-wrenching to know that Tony suffers every day, and there she is asking for those privileges and for day release."

The Ministry of Justice said: "Prisoners can apply for release on temporary licence, but it does not mean it will be granted.

"Anyone who is released on a temporary licence is carefully risk-assessed and is immediately returned to a closed prison if they don't obey strict conditions."

Tony's family campaigned for Tony's Law, which Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said would provide "maximum protection to the most vulnerable," with the maximum jail sentence for those who cause or allow a child's death increasing from 14 years to life imprisonment.

Sentences would also go up from 10 to 14 years for people who cause serious harm to children.

The law would not be applied retrospectively to Tony's abusers, and Simpson is set to be released from prison this summer.

Mrs Hudgell said: "It's four years since the sentencing and it just seems like a mockery [of] the system."

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