Vile dad who abused son Tony Hudgell so badly he lost his legs will stay behind bars after losing parole appeal bid | The Sun

A SICK child abuser who injured his six-week old son so badly his legs had to be amputated will be kept in prison.

Tony Smith, 52, lost a parole bid yesterday after chiefs decided it would be a risk to other kids to let him out early.

The evil father was jailed in 2018 for causing horrific harm to his son, also called Tony, along with the child's mother, Jody Simpson.

Little Tony Hudgell, as he is now known, was just 41 days old when he was brutally assaulted by the pair, leaving him with a series of broken fingers, toes and torn ligaments.

The little tot suffered from organ failure, toxic shock and sepsis, after his life-changing injuries were untreated for 10 days.

The Dad was sentenced to ten years behind bars but has only served five so far.

Last year Dominic Raab stepped in at the 11th hour to refer the case to parole chiefs after he came up for automatic early release.

But yesterday they insisted it was in the public interest that he remained locked up.

Smith still has "no concept" of how to care for a child and has a pattern of repeat offending, they said.

He is due for release in September 2027 – but can make another bid for parole in a year.

Inspirational Paula Hudgell, Tony's adoptive mum, was given an OBE this year after successfully lobbying for Tony's Law, which gave judges the power to hand life sentences to sick child abusers.

Last night she branded him an "evil coward" and said prison was "where he belongs".

She said: "In the time Smith has been behind bars, I'd hoped he'd have learnt about remorse, insight and understanding of what he did. But it seems his life is one of continuing denial.

"He denied my son medical help for his terrible injuries for 10 days, he denied inflicting those injuries in court and then he denied my family the right to tell him exactly how life-changing his and Simpson's brutality was, and the life-long challenges my son must endure.

"He's an evil coward and the Parole Board's decision was the right one. He should remain in prison until he truly understands what he and Simpson did."

"He remains where he belongs."

The Parole Board said yesterday: "Having considered the index offences, relevant patterns of previous offending and the other evidence before it, the panel listed as risk factors those influences which made it more likely that Mr Smith would reoffend.

"At the time of his offending, these risk factors had included Mr Smith's chaotic life, his abuse of drugs and his use of alcohol.

"He has acted recklessly and impulsively and has struggled to manage extreme emotions.

"The panel considered his relationships, isolation, boredom, poor decision making and an inability to deal with life's problems to be further areas of risk.

"Specifically, he has no concept of the responsibilities entailed in caring for a child."

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A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "Protecting the public is our number one priority which is why we introduced new powers to keep the most high-risk prisoners behind bars for longer.

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"We have also changed the law so those who seriously hurt children face the tough sentences they deserve."

Brave little Tony, now eight, has raised more than £1.8million for the Evelina hospital where his life was saved, and other charities.

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