No criminal charges for parents of obese son who were accused of child neglect
A mother and father arrested in the UK on suspicion of child neglect over concerns over their 15-stone 11-year-old son’s weight will not face criminal charges.
The 50-year-old man and 45-year-old woman were arrested in March last year under the Children’s Act 1933 and have been on police bail ever since.
Today Norfolk Police said the couple, from the King’s Lynn area, had been released from bail without charge.
A spokesman said: “Following detailed inquiries and Crown Prosecution Service advice, it has been determined the criminal proceedings are now closed.”
At the time of the arrests, the boy was 5ft 1in and had a body mass index of 41.9 – classed as Obese Class III.
His mother told The Sun that she and her husband spent 50 minutes in a cell following their arrest.
She added: “The idea they could take away my son scares me so much. His weight isn’t that much of a big deal.
“I’m chubby and the whole of my husband’s side of the family is big. It’s genetics – you can be genetically fat.”
Norfolk Police said it would not comment on specific cases but said the arrests had been based on criteria set out by the Norfolk Safeguarding Children Board.
These include the child’s weight increasing disproportionately to age and the parents failing to take action.
“The child’s welfare is of paramount importance and our priority throughout this investigation has always been – and remains – the safety and protection of that child,” the police spokesman said.
