DAVID AND SHARON ASPDEN SENTENCED IN PRESTON FOR CHILD CRUELTY AND ABUSE
A man and woman responsible for inflicting "unimaginable pain" on two children have been sentenced to prison.David Aspden, aged 50, assaulted a girl by kicking her while wearing a steel toe-capped boot and poisoned her dog with antifreeze.
Additionally, he aimed a gun at a stray cat, threatening the girl with harm, Preston Crown Court heard.
Judge Graham Knowles QC stated during sentencing that Mr.
Aspden treated the girl and a boy with "cruelty that was almost casual." The court heard that the girl, whose identity is protected for legal reasons, confided in Aspden's wife, Sharon, about his violence toward her, but she supported her husband instead.
The abuse escalated to sexual misconduct, and Mr.
Aspden was convicted of sexually abusing her.
Both defendants are from Darwen; David Aspden has been jailed for 13 years for his sexual abuse and cruelty, while Sharon Aspden received a two-and-a-half-year sentence for her role in the cruelty.
Prosecutor Shirlie Duckworth revealed that during the period of abuse, Sharon Aspden, a hairdresser, was often heavily intoxicated, sometimes to the point of wetting herself, and David Aspden smoked cannabis daily.
Ms.
Duckworth also reported that on one occasion, Mrs.
Aspden inflicted a black eye on the girl during a drunken rage.
The couple frequently displayed violence toward each other, with reports of Mr.
Aspden pushing his wife down the stairs.
Court proceedings disclosed that David Aspden showed the children pornographic material and molested the girl, abusing her in front of the boy.
He also gave her a cannabis joint and instructed her to remove her top; the girl described her confusion as feeling like she was "on another planet." When the girl befriended a younger boy, Aspden labeled her a "paedophile." Judge Knowles criticized Aspden, saying, "You are, amongst many other things, a hypocrite." After being convicted, David Aspden told a probation officer that the girl was "an attention seeker who thrived off the drama," and accused the boy of being manipulated into testifying.
Sharon Aspden claimed the children were lying.
Judge Knowles concluded there was "no realistic prospect of rehabilitation" for the couple and emphasized the need for immediate and severe punishment.
In her victim impact statement, the girl expressed that she had faced mental health struggles and self-harmed due to the abuse but felt a sense of pride in bringing her abusers to justice.
She stated directly to them in court, "I am not scared of either of you now, and I see through you.
You wouldn't dare do this to someone your own size." The boy also shared that he was frightened and upset by the way the Aspdens treated him.
Concluding the case, Judge Knowles said, "You two, between you, brought about unimaginable harm and pain to these two children."
