Husband And Wife Get 27 Years For Abusing 13-Month-Old Girl They Were Babysitting

Michael Chase sentenced to 14 years and wife Lara 13 (SWNS)

A husband and wife who sexually abused a 13-month-old girl they were babysitting have been jailed for a total of 27 years.

Michael Chase was jailed for 14 years and his wife Lara 13 by a judge at Peterborough Crown Court on Friday.

The pair had attacked the friend’s baby twice and taken pictures.

The judge called it “the worse case of abuse of a baby I have ever seen”.

 Chase, 52, a former swimming pool attendant, had admitted his guilt last year but his 46-year-old wife claimed she was unaware of the abuse.

She told the court that the pair had separated after 18 months of marriage and she wanted to see him “hung, drawn and quartered”.

But the court did not believe her claims of innocence and she was found guilty earlier this week of two counts of sexual assault and the distribution of indecent images.

After their conviction and before sentencing on Friday, Detective Constable Lloyd Metselaar from Cambridgeshire Police said: “I am pleased that the family of the victim have received justice for what can only be described as every parent’s worst nightmare.

“The appalling acts committed together by Michael and Lara Chase on such a young child, who had been entrusted in their care, demonstrate the most serious breach of trust.”