A couple was sentenced to one year in prison for engaging in a campaign of physical and emotional abuse against three children, leaving them traumatized as adults.
Lorna Dennington, 47, struck the children on a regular basis, had one girl eat her food off the floor after she was sick, and four times banged a boy’s head into a cupboard as punishment for getting home late from school.
Teesside Crown Court heard that her husband Christopher Dennington “essentially stood back and allowed it to happen.”
He also emptied $58,000 from the bank account of one of the children. The money had been left in a trust fund for the boy’s future by his deceased father, and the victim feels “betrayed” by its theft.
Christopher Dennington pleaded guilty to an additional count of fraud, and the pair both pled guilty to three charges of child cruelty.
When she appeared in court on Tuesday, Lorna Dennington stated that she was “ill-equipped to manage the duty” of caring for the children, who are now all adults.
Lorna Dennington, 47, appeared before Teesside Crown Court on Tuesday and blamed her behavior on being ‘ill-equipped to handle the duty’ of caring for the now-adult children.
Prosecutor Michael Morley told the court that the mother smacked and forced the children to take anti-plaque medication if they did not perform duties to her specifications. If their teeth were stained, she scrubbed their gums until they bled.
The court heard that on another occasion, when a youngster returned home with wet pants after playing in the river, Lorna Dennington was so enraged that she shoved him into the bathtub and ran the shower head in his face, telling him, “If you want to be in a river, try this.”
The child remembers struggling to breathe as water was sprayed at him.
The court heard that when one of the girls reached a teenager, Lorna Dennington humiliated her by examining her underwear for menstrual stains and slapping her if she found any.
According to the girl, the woman would mock her and call her overweight in front of other children.
Lorna Dennington’s attorney, Michele Turner, told the court that her client’struggled to cope’ with childhood trauma before joining a violent marriage.
She stated that the mother was “ill-equipped for such responsibility” and that she has subsequently been diagnosed with emotionally unstable personality disorder, “which is the source of all of this behavior.”
While the three children told police that Lorra Dennington was the primary offender, the court heard that her husband once threatened to kill the boy.
Christopher Denningham pled guilty to a single count of fraud between March 2016 and May 2017. He opened a Santander bank account to house the £58,000 trust fund that his deceased father had left for the youngster in his care and spent all but £1,000 of it.
The court heard that he spent the money on shopping, but he maintained that the monies were intended to purchase items for his bedroom.
The court heard that Christopher Dennington “essentially stood back and watched everything happen”
The now-adult youngster stated in his victim impact statement that he felt deceived when he discovered the money had been squandered. He intended to utilize the funds to purchase a home.
“I am devastated that the money my father left me has vanished. I intended to use it to purchase a home. Living with Lorna and Christopher has had a profound effect on me. I experience mood swings. If a hand is raised near me, I instantly cringe,’ he explained.
Both female victims considered suicide as a direct result of the torture they endured at the hands of the Denningtons as adolescents.
Between January 2006 and April 2017, the Darlington couple pled guilty to three counts of cruelty to a child under 16 years of age.
Each victim fled the home as soon as they reached adulthood.
One of the women stated in a statement that she felt ill when a court security guard mistakenly led her into a room where she encountered the couple.
She answered, “I turned and fled.” I was trembling within the witness room. This sums up how terrified I am of Lorna.
Tuesday, the pair appeared in the Teesside Crown Court after pleading guilty to child cruelty.
The third victim stated that she had suicidal thoughts at the age of 17 and suffers from an eating disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of child abuse.
They made me feel like the fault was with me. When I ran away, the police and social services brought me back to them. My youth was spent terrified of what terrible things would occur next,’ she stated in a court-provided statement.
Dennington’s attorney, John Nixon, described his client as a “vulnerable” adult who has “difficulty processing information when under stress.”
Mr. Nixon stated that he had requested assistance from social services because he was struggling with his family.
Judge Jeremy Barnett informed the pair, “The children described a home where they were disciplined, smacked, and subjected to demeaning treatment.” You continue to deny some situations.
Christopher Dennington, you delved into the trust fund of one of the victims whenever it suited you. Even now, you assert that he desired to embellish his bedroom. He feels as though his money was his ticket to a new life, which you have denied him.
However, Lorna Dennington was the driving force behind this cruel behavior.
Lorna Dennington wept as she and her husband were each sentenced to one year in prison. Due to their guilty pleas, their punishments were reduced.
Christopher Dennington will return to court on February 24 for a hearing to determine whether he must repay any of the money he fraudulently obtained.