Warwickshire pensioner jailed for putting neglected children through ‘absolute hell’
A WOMAN in her 70s has been jailed for 10 years after she was convicted of child neglect dating back to the 1970s.
Elsie Wheddon, of Northend, Warwickshire, was convicted of 13 counts of child neglect following a trial by jury in February.
The 71-year-old was said to have put three children through “absolute hell”, including:
- Using one child’s hair to mop up urine
- Dunking a child into a freezing bath and holding them under the water
- Allowing rat-like creatures to run over the children and bite them
- Locking children in rooms, in cupboards and in the attic, and subjecting them to beatings
Wheddon also failed to prevent her then husband, Stephen Wheddon, who is now dead, from sexually assaulting some of the victims.
She also allowed him to burn one child with a lighter.
On Monday at Oxford Crown Court, Wheddon was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment for the offences, which took place in Oxfordshire.
Stephen Wheddon had been charged with a number of sexual offences, but took his own life before the case went to court.
Detective Constable Phillipa Metcalfe, of Thames Valley Police, said: “This case can only be described as truly horrific and what the children were put through was quite clearly an absolute hell.
“Elsie Wheddon was cruel, violent and also allowed her then husband, to carry out sexual and physical abuse against the victims.
“I would like to thank the victims for their bravery in supporting our investigation and giving evidence against their abuser, and I hope that this case highlights that time will not be a barrier to justice being served.”
