Ludlow Man Given Prison Sentence For Poisoning Disabled Child

[Hereford Voice]

A Ludlow man has been sentenced to 32 months in prison after the court heard how he deliberately gave amphetamine to a disabled 9-year-old boy who had been left in his care.

Leon Daniel Weaver, 40-years-old, of Middleton Sidings in Middleton appeared at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Wednesday 26 April and pleaded guilty to the charges of Cause assault, ill treatment, neglect, abandonment of child/young person to cause unnecessary suffering/injury and possession of a controlled drug of Class B.

The court heard how the offence became known when Weaver had been filmed covertly due to suspicions he had been cheating on his partner. In the video shown in court he is seen dropping amphetamine into a can of drink before shaking it and saying to the boy “Do you want some of this little man?”

On handing Weaver a prison term Judge David Hale said: “To deliberately give amphetamine to a nine-year-old, grossly disabled child is unforgivable. I expect that you now are horrified that you did it and cannot understand how you could come to do it or what you were thinking. But you did it. “It was a deliberate disregard for his welfare. It is beyond belief. It really was unbelievable conduct.”

The boy’s mother Terri Smith, 38-years-old of Wheat Common in Ludlow also appeared in court and pleased to guilty to charges of Assault, ill treatment, neglect and abandon a child/young person to cause unnecessary suffering/injury. The court heard how she did not take the boy to hospital until the next day.

Smith was sentenced to a community order for 18 months which, as part of its terms, included completing 6 months of alcohol abuse treatment and completing 20 days of rehabilitation which will involve completing various activities set by the Probation Service.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Karena Evans, Protecting Vulnerable People team, said: “This was a horrifying incident and hard to comprehend that someone would do something so awful to a disabled child. Thankfully, the little boy has survived his ordeal and he has now been safeguarded.”