A cruel couple who inflicted a lengthy campaign of physical and emotional abuse on three children have seen their prison sentences significantly increased.
Originally, Lorna and Christopher Dennington were locked up for a year a piece but the Court of Appeal ruled the sentences were unduly lenient following a request from the Attorney General’s office.
Lorna Dennington laughed, smirked and shook her head throughout the hearing in London but broke down in tears when Lord Justice William Davis raised her prison sentence to one of four years and ten months.
Her husband Christopher had an additional five years added to his sentence resulting in him being locked up for a total of six years.
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The court heard how Lorna Dennington, who was described as a ‘monster’ by one of her victims, would regularly slap the three children for any minor indiscretion while her husband, Christopher, would idly stand by and watch.
Her husband also fleeced almost £60,000 from one of the victims after he was left in charge of a trust fund set up in the wake of the death of the boy’s father.
Ben Lloyd, representing the Attorney General’s office, said the original sentence had failed to factor in the severity of the case and the fact that there were three separate victims.
He said the sentencing judge had given them too much credit for their guilty pleas.
No legal representations were made on behalf of either of the couple, who appeared in court via video links from prison.
Passing his ruling, Lord Justice Davis said: “For the reasons given, the sentences imposed of these offenders were unduly lenient.
“We shall quash the sentences imposed and in there place we shall substitute the following sentences, in relation to Lorna Dennington each sentence will be four years and ten months and those sentences will run concurrently.
“In relation to Christopher Dennington the sentence for cruelty charges will be three years imprisonment and the sentence to be served in relation to fraud will be a consecutive sentence of three years making a total sentence of six years in all.”
In September, Recorder Jeremy Barnett had locked the pair up for 12-months each after deciding that only an immediate custodial sentence was a suitable punishment.
“All the children are now adults and have left the address but what I have heard is the dramatic effects of this course of offending that was set out in the victim impact statements,” he said.
Dealing with the fraud charge, the judge said: “To systematically run the fund down, which was there for him when he reached maturity, was callous beyond belief.”
The judge told both defendants he had given them a hefty discount from their sentence following their guilty pleas.
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