Lancashire carer jailed for burning boy with cigarettes and dog food

Siann Cawley, 27, of Fleetwood in Lancashire, was sentenced on October 7 at Preston Crown Court to four years and three months in prison after pleading guilty to repeatedly abusing a young boy in her care by burning him with cigarettes and forcing him to eat dog food. The court heard the offences occurred over a three week period while the child, who is not Cawley’s and cannot be named for legal reasons, was in her custody.

Prosecutors secured convictions on charges that included assault occasioning actual bodily harm, ill treatment, neglect and abandonment. At an earlier hearing Cawley admitted to the offences, and the sentencing judge imposed a custodial term that will be served at HMP Styal in Cheshire.

Court testimony described a sequence of injuries sustained by the boy during the period he was with Cawley. The court was told that she put out cigarettes on his body and made him eat pet food. It was also reported that she left the child locked alone in a room for hours at a time while she was away from the property. Medical and other evidentiary details were considered by the court in reaching its sentence.

Cawley was the primary caregiver for the child during the period in...