Fury as vile parents who beat son so badly he lost both his legs to be released in days
7 August 2022, 08:52
Two parents who beat their boy so badly as a baby that he had to have both his legs amputated are due to be released in days – sickening his adoptive mother.
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Tony Hudgell, now seven, was attacked viciously less than two months after he was born.
Anthony Smith, 47, and Jody Simpson, 24, were jailed for 10 years after being convicted of cruelty to their son at Maidstone Crown Court in 2018.
Tony has since been adopted by Paula Hudgell, who said hearing from a victim liaison officer that Simpson will be let out this week and Smith will be released later in August was "sickening" like a "blow to the stomach".
They will both be released automatically halfway through their jail time. The vile parents had been given the maximum sentence at the time.
Speaking from their home in Kent, Ms Hudgell, 54, told The Mirror: "These monsters have spent just five years behind bars while Tony faces a lifetime of challenges as a result of their wickedness.
"They don't go before the parole board or have to show any remorse to walk free. It's like a blow to the stomach and makes me feel sick knowing those who abuse babies and children are free within a few years.
"These monsters could be living in your street and you wouldn’t have a clue."
Tony knows the two will soon be out of jail.
He helped raise £1.7m for his second home, a children's charity in London.
Read more: Teenager stabbed to death in broad daylight on east London high street
He has been invited to a Downing Street reception this week after winning an award from the Prime Minister during lockdown. Simpson could even be released that same day.
Ms Hudgell said: "Tony so was cross when I told him they wouldn't be in jail for much longer.
"He has previously said he wants be a policeman when he is older but told me, 'I have to join now so I can re-arrest them'.
"It's ironic too that, having won a Prime Minister's award during lockdown in 2020, Tony has been invited to a reception on Tuesday, a date on which Simpson could walk out of jail.”
Paula had campaigned with Tory MP and former leadership candidate Tom Tugendhat to push for the parents to be convicted.
She then drove a campaign for Tony's Law, pushing sentences for those who cause a child's death to go up from 14 years to life. She now wants a register for child cruelty offenders.
