June 2019

Former Barrow couple admit neglect of young child

A couple from Barrow have admitted child neglect on the day they were due to stand trial.

Neither Nathan Moscrop, 28, and Rebecca Louise O’Brien, 26, admitted injuring the child, and both said they should have sought medical attention when they saw the child had bruises to its face.

The pair, who are no longer in a relationship, sat side by side in the dock at Preston Crown Court, separated by a prison guard.

Despite numerous court appearances, both have previously insisted they were not guilty of cruelty.

Judge Graham Knowles said he would sentence Moscrop, of Gloucester Street, and O’Brien, formerly of Durham Street, both Barrow on July 8 but asked for pre-sentence reports to help him pass the appropriate sentence.

Discharging the jury, he said: “They have not accepted everything you would have heard about in the course of the trial.

“The fact is, this case came before me for a trial in late November last year (and it was adjourned).

“They have got to the point of almost having a jury sworn and not pleaded guilty.

“Now, having had a jury sworn, when it has come to the point of cold, hard, reality, they have.

“The child had very unpleasant visible bruising to the face.

“Each of them accepts they put the child in the worst possible position. Instead of getting him help they concocted a story.”

The pair pleaded guilty to a charge of wilful assaulting, mistreating or neglecting a child in a manner likely to cause him unnecessary suffering.

The offences happened between March 2015 and March 2016.

The pair both first appeared at South Cumbria Magistrates’ Court last July when they entered not guilty pleas.

A second charge against another child was left to lie on the file.

Both Moscrop and O’Brien have been granted bail but Judge Knowles said their present freedom is no indication of the sentence he will pass when they return to court in July.