12-Year-Old Boy Went Blind Because Of Neglect, Wrote ‘Help Me’ On Wall


A 12-year-old boy who ultimately went blind because of the squalid conditions that he lived wrote “help me” on his wall, it has emerged.

The child and his two-year-old sister were subjected to neglect for around six years, a report has revealed. Gillian Hendry and Craig Dick, both of whom are aged 34, were the parents who failed to care or look after their children in the correct manner. They have both now been jailed. Hendry has been imprisoned for two and a half years while Dick will serve two years and two months inside.

The duo pleaded guilty to the charges of child neglect that had been brought against them. But a report documenting their treatment of the pair has now been released, and it unfortunately reveals that there were several opportunities for authorities to intervene — but they failed to do so.

The unnamed 12-year-old was forced to live in such filthy, horrific and stinking conditions that he lost sight in his left eye because cataracts had infested it to such a devastating extent.

There were several attempts made by hospital officials, school employees and neighbors to bring the abuse of the children to the attention of officials. But it was only until social workers were able to get inside of the home that they noticed the boy had gone blind. Ten months after the children had been removed, the “help me” plea was noticed scribbled on a wall in the hideously disgusting bedroom.

Henry is thought to have told social workers that her son had written the plea for help because “he wanted help to tidy his room.” The two children are now believed to be “doing well” and they have been relocated to “appropriate placements.”

According to investigators, the house was packed and infested with dirt. This included errant bin bags that were packed to the brim with dirty diapers, trodden-in food was dotted across the home, and the kitchen and toilet were covered in flies. According to the report [via the Mirror], one bedroom had even been used as a toilet.

“(The boy) reported that he was blind in his left eye. He said he remembered his eye being sticky then cloudy before going black. Miss Hendry appeared to be oblivious to his eye and claimed to be unaware that (the boy) was unable to see. He (the child) told the social worker that when he used to wake up at his home, he had to tend to his little sister.”

[Image via PressTV]

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