Couple who wrapped stillborn baby in a towel and put it in a bin are sentenced
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A woman and her boyfriend have been given community orders after prosecutors accepted she did not illegally abort her baby. Warning: This article contains distressing content. Sophie Harvey, 25, was due to stand trial with Elliot Benham in February on charges she took abortion pills online a month after the 24-week cut-off when she was 19.
The couple had accepted they bought the medication, but Harvey insisted she did not take them and gave birth to a stillborn baby in her bathroom in September 2018. Harvey had previously described to Gloucester Crown Court how she was confused after going into labour and wrapped the baby in a towel before placing it into a bin.
At a further hearing on Wednesday, they both admitted to a new charge of conspiracy to procure a poison with intent to procure a miscarriage. Harvey, of St Mary's Road, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, and Benham, of Wingfield, Swindon, Wiltshire, had already accepted a charge of concealing the birth of a child.
But on Wednesday, the Crown Prosecution Service said it decided not to pursue other charges following "careful reflection". These included procuring a poison, procuring a miscarriage by poison and perverting the course of justice - which they denied and were ordered to lie on file.
"We recognise the profoundly painful circumstances surrounding this case, which our prosecutors have approached with sensitivity and care," a spokesperson said. "The defendants have pleaded guilty to two offences, and after careful reflection we have concluded that it is not in the public interest to pursue further charges.".
