Wigan woman spared immediate jail time after admitting neglecting a child who had suffered multuiple injuries

But no-one will be prosecuted for inflicting the injuries in the first place, the victim's dismayed grandmother has been told.

Jessica Disley, 24, of Darlington Street, appeared before a Bolton Crown Court judge to plead guilty to the neglect or abandonment of a 17-month-old boy nearly four years ago.

The hearing was told he had suffered around 20, slap, pinch and finger bruise injuries to various parts of his body in February 2022, a clinical expert telling the hearing that they were comparable with injuries incurred in a car crash.

But neither Disley, nor her then partner Joshua Unsworth, who like her was originally charged with two counts of neglect, was charged with assault and neither has anyone else been since.

The charges against Unsworth were stopped in July 2025 – he was officially found not guilty – and one against Disley was also dropped when she pleaded guilty to the other.

The length of time to get matters before the court, due to the current backlog problem, has had a bearing on what prosecutors call "the evidential test," as does the likelihood or not of securing tougher sentences by pressing further charges.

The boy's grandmother today said that Disley should have gone straight to prison for the offence she admitted to and would have done if she had been a man.

As it was, a judge gave her a 12-month custodial sentence but suspended it for 18 months. She must also complete 15 days of rehabilitation activities.

The grandmother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said: "We wanted this to go to trial and have an assault prosecution but the Crown Prosecution Service accepted her guilty plea to neglect.

"Seeing that little boy with all these injuries like a cut to the sole of his feet and pinch marks and finger bruises where he had been held down was heartbreaking.

"He is now five, a beautiful little boy and thriving but he still has triggers and we'll never know exactly what went on when he was a toddler.

"It has been a very long and stressful legal process."

A Crown Prosecution Service Spokesperson said: “We prosecuted Jessica Disley in April 2023 and secured a conviction for a charge of neglect; on the basis she had failed to seek medical attention for the child’s injuries.

“We made every effort for the planned trial on a second charge of neglect to be heard swiftly; however, for reasons beyond our control, it was not listed until 2027.

“Our prosecutors determined that as a result of these delays any conviction for a second charge would be unlikely to increase the sentence– and therefore took the decision not to continue with the prosecution.”

On the sentencing, the grandmother added: "Our legal system is archaic. There is no question that if Disley had been a man and pleaded guilty to the same charge, she would have been sent straight to jail.

"And it is bitterly disappointing that no-one will be prosecuted for inflicting his injuries."

The CPS has a duty to keep cases under continuous review to ensure both its evidential and public interest tests remain met.