A mother who hid her baby daughter in a drawer for the first three years of her life has been sentenced to seven years and six months in prison for "extreme neglect."

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The girl, who cannot be named to protect her identity, was discovered in early 2023 when a visitor to the family’s home in Cheshire heard crying from an upstairs room. Prosecutors revealed that the child had "never known daylight or fresh air," was severely malnourished, and had been fed using a syringe.

The mother, whose other children were reportedly well cared for, admitted to four charges of child cruelty at an earlier hearing. Sentencing her at Chester Crown Court, Judge Steven Everett described the case as "unprecedented in its cruelty."

"You starved that little girl of any love, proper affection, or attention. What you did totally defies belief," said Judge Everett. "She was an intelligent little girl, now slowly coming to life, from what was almost a living death."

The court heard that the mother had concealed the child’s existence, hiding her in a drawer beneath her bed and keeping her secret from her partner and other family members. The child was discovered with matted hair, deformities, rashes, and signs of severe malnourishment, resembling a seven-month-old rather than a three-year-old.

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Rachel Worthington of the Crown Prosecution Service described the shocking conditions: "The child did not respond to her own name and had been left alone for long periods to fend for herself." The girl, who suffered from medical issues including a cleft palate, had never received medical treatment.

The mother claimed during police interviews that she was "really scared" after giving birth and had not known she was pregnant. She maintained that the drawer was "never closed" and that the child was "not part of the family."

The horrific neglect spanned from early 2020 to early 2023, with the child only being discovered after a visitor heard unusual noises and found her on the bed. A social worker who visited the home described her "overwhelming horror" at the conditions in which the child had been kept.

Judge Everett condemned the mother’s actions, stating: "You attempted to control this situation as carefully as you could, but by sheer chance, your terrible secret was discovered. In my 46 years, I don’t remember a case as bad as this."

The girl is now in care and reportedly beginning to recover from the ordeal.