Child Care Solicitors

A woman who abandoned her newborn baby at the front door of a block of flats in County Durham has been given a suspended sentence at Peterlee Magistrates’ Court.

At a previous hearing, Leigh Anne Varley, 36, of Horden pleaded guilty to having wilfully ill-treated, neglected, abandoned or exposed a child in a manner to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health.

Mrs Varley was traced by police officers after her baby was discovered in the doorway in May. The court heard that she had abandoned the child after becoming pregnant without the knowledge of her husband and had feared his reaction to her pregnancy.

The court sentenced Varley to 14 weeks in jail, suspended for 12 months.

After sentencing,A CPS spokesperson said:

“Mrs Varley took the desperate step of abandoning her child in the hours after it was born that was motivated primarily by fear of a violent reprisal from her own husband, who was wholly unaware of the pregnancy.”

Duncan Lewis Children Lawyers

Duncan Lewis children lawyers can advise on child abuse or child abandonment, as well as offering legal advice on children taken into Local Authority care, care proceedings, Section 38 enquiries and pre-proceedings meetings.

There are Duncan Lewis offices nationwide and Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of Legal Aid lawyers.

For expert legal advice on all child care matters and family law matters, call Duncan Lewis children solicitors on 020 7923 4020.