Couple who hid stillborn baby in bin sentenced

A couple who concealed the birth of a stillborn child, who was wrapped in a towel and placed in a household rubbish bin, have been sentenced.

Sophie Harvey and Elliot Benham, both 25, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obtain a poison with the intent to procure a miscarriage and endeavouring to conceal the birth of a child.

But prosecutors decided not to pursue charges that Harvey, of St Mary's Road, Cirencester, illegally aborted her baby, which was over 28 weeks' gestation, and which she said was stillborn when she gave birth aged 19.

Harvey was sentenced to 18 hours community service, while Benham, from Wingfield, Swindon, was ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work.

The Crown Prosecution Service said that following "careful reflection" it decided not to pursue the further charges alleging that Harvey had illegally aborted her baby, which it said was "not in the public interest".

Sentencing the pair at Gloucester Crown Court, Judge Lawrie said: "It was an act of your immaturity at the time, and your youth.

"You were confronted with a scenario beyond your expectations.

"The baby was stillborn in a bathroom and a life was sadly lost. The loss of that life was a tragedy and that small child was treated by being wrapped in a towel and placed in a bin.

"What it means is there was an absence of compassion and humanity."

The judge added: "The impact upon your lives has been traumatic and I am sure this will continue for some time."

The court was told that the pair were 19 at the time and had been in a relationship for a year before Harvey became pregnant.

Anna Vigars KC, prosecuting, told the court that the pair went to see Harvey's GP and had thought that her last period was in April, making her 16 weeks pregnant.

She was clear with her GP that she did not want to keep the baby and an appointment was made for her at a clinic.

But when they went to BPAS pregnancy advisory service in Swindon, a scan revealed that the foetus was more than 28 weeks old.

"Staff say both of them appeared very shocked by the news they were given," said Ms Vigars.

Defending Harvey, Thomas Godfrey said his client ordered pills that would have brought on an abortion, but Harvey and Benham maintained that Harvey suffered a stillbirth between the dates the pills were ordered and the dates that they arrived.

Harvey described how she was left upset and confused after going into labour at home in September 2018.

In late November, police were called to Harvey's home to see her and check on what happened to the child.

Police discovered that one of the pills was missing when they searched their house.

Harvey explained this by saying that after the stillbirth, she thought about taking a pill to make sure the placenta had gone but then changed her mind as it was an illegal pill.

"Those admissions were made in November 2018," Mr Godfrey said.

"The investigation took five years. It wasn't until 2023 that Miss Harvey was eventually charged, which in any view is an unacceptable length of time.

"It is plain from reading the pre-sentence report the effect that the media attention has had not just on Sophie Harvey but also Mr Benham."

Harvey and Benham pleaded not guilty to other charges of procuring a poison to cause a miscarriage and committing an act with intent to pervert the course of public justice.

Harvey also pleaded not guilty to administering a poison with intent to procure a miscarriage.

As well as the community sentence, Harvey was told to undergo 18 months of mental health treatment.

The couple were both ordered to pay a £114 surcharge each.

A CPS spokesperson said: "We recognise the profoundly painful circumstances surrounding this case, which our prosecutors have approached with sensitivity and care.

"Our duty is to apply the law set by Parliament impartially - especially when dealing with the most difficult or complex decisions.

"The defendants have pleaded guilty to two offences, and after careful reflection we have concluded that it is not in the public interest to pursue further charges."

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