Mum jailed for failing to protect abused son

A mother who failed to protect her six-year-old son from “extreme sexual violence” by his father has been jailed for 18 months.

Last week, the child’s father was jailed for 14 years for raping him and locking him in a wooden box in the family home in Waterford.

The mother was convicted of a single count of child cruelty relating to the events in the house. Yesterday, Mr Justice Robert Eagar said he was sentencing her on the basis that she was aware of the abuse but failed to protect her son or alert the authorities.