Luci Marie Nicholls, aged 23, formerly of Nuneaton and currently residing in Lythalls Lane, Coventry, has been sentenced to 12 months’ immediate imprisonment at Birmingham Crown Court after breaching the terms of a suspended sentence order imposed for severe cruelty and neglect against her four-week-old daughter.
Nicholls previously pleaded guilty in January 2025 to cruelty to a person under 16 under Section 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933.
The offences occurred during a two-week period in January 2022 when the infant was approximately four weeks old.
The abuse came to light when health visitors observed an atypical bruise on the newborn’s forehead during a routine welfare assessment.
When questioned by healthcare staff, Nicholls claimed the baby had raised her own head and accidentally struck herself.
Subsequent emergency medical examinations at hospital refuted her explanation, uncovering a catastrophic series of non-accidental physical injuries:
Multiple traumatic brain injuries consistent with forceful physical impacts or violent handling
Acute fractures to the infant’s sixth and seventh left ribs, determined to have been caused by crushing pressure and significant manual chest compression
Extensive contusions located on the posterior aspect of the left thigh, across both buttocks, and on the forehead
Severe physical neglect, characterised by chronic poor weight gain and jaundice; evidence presented to the court indicated the newborn was fed as little as twice within a 24-hour period
A police inquiry confirmed that Nicholls maintained exclusive day-to-day control of the baby’s feeding and physical care, actively preventing her partner from assisting.
When interrogated by detectives, Nicholls gave conflicting explanations for the bruising, ultimately asserting that if she had caused the fractures and head trauma, she had no memory of doing so.
The child was subsequently removed from her custody by child protection authorities.
At her initial sentencing hearing on 22 April 2025, the court imposed an 18-month custodial sentence, suspended for an operational period, coupled with 100 hours of unpaid community work.
However, Nicholls failed to attend and complete the mandatory requirements of the sentence.
She was arrested and brought back before the original sentencing judge at Birmingham Crown Court.
Finding her in breach of the court order, the judge revoked the community elements and activated the custodial sentence, reducing the overall term to 12 months’ immediate imprisonment.
Release Calculation: Under UK sentencing legislation governing determinate sentences of 12 months, statutory release applies at the halfway point. Nicholls will serve one-half (six months) of her 12-month sentence in prison custody before release on licence to complete the remainder of the term under the supervision of the Probation Service.
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