Abuse survivor's fury at mum's early jail release

A woman who says she was beaten, burned and starved as a child said she was outraged her birth mother had been released from prison after serving only eight months of a 20-month prison sentence.

A judge said Caroline Eshghi from Cornwall had been subjected to a "dreadful catalogue of cruelty and abuse" by Melanie Burmingham over a period of 12 years.

Eshgui has been calling for sentencing guidelines to be changed so survivors of historical abuse are not denied justice, as she says she has been.

"When punishment fails to reflect the lifelong harm inflicted, justice becomes meaningless and survivors like me are left silenced, dismissed and profoundly failed by the very system meant to protect us," she said.

Warning: This article contains details some readers may find distressing

Eshghi said she had been subjected to years of "terror" by Burmingham while living in Bristol, Somerset and Wiltshire during the 1970s and 80s.

"From when I was very small, she would hold my head underwater," she said.

"When we lived in Long Ashton, she would use my hand as an ashtray. I would hold my arm out all night and if it dropped, she would put her cigarette out on my hand."

One of her earliest memories is being five years old and in a house with an L-shaped hallway, where she remembers being "drop-kicked like a human football".

"The viciousness of it made me pee blood," she said.

She added: "When I was about 12, she introduced the walking stick. I would have to kneel on the floor when she brought the walking stick down on my back."

Eshghi made the decision to report the abuse she had suffered to police in 2019.

Avon and Somerset Police launched an investigation and four years later, in March 2023, Burmingham, 80, was charged with one count of cruelty to a person under 16 years contrary to section 1 of the Children and Young Person Act 1933.

She was given a 20-month suspended sentence after pleading guilty during trial at Portsmouth Crown Court.

Eshghi appealed her mother's suspended sentence and after a Court of Appeal ruling on 23 May 2025, Burmingham was sent to prison for 20 months.

However, Burmingham was released from prison in January 2026 after only serving eight months of her sentence.

"Our justice system is betraying victims and survivors," said Eshghi. "The gap between the horrific reality of crimes against children and the weak sentences imposed is unbearable.

"For someone who commits the worst type of crimes, how can we have a legal system that is so flawed?"

Eshghi is campaigning for a change in the law around sentencing guidelines for historical child abuse cases.

Under current laws, judges can only pass a sentence within the maximum term available at the time of the offending.

This means individuals who committed acts of cruelty against children before 2005 can only receive a maximum sentence of two years.

Today, the same offences would carry a maximum sentence of 14 years.

"How can we balance that to be morally right? It is so wrong on so many levels," Eshghi said.

She wants those bought to justice through police investigations for historical child abuse crimes under the Child Cruelty Act to face the sentencing regulations in place now and not those at the time crimes were committed.

"It is universally acknowledged the law prior to 2005 did not understand the seriousness and impact of crimes against children," she added.

Her petition has gained more than 40,000 signatures and she is planning on taking it to parliament later this year.

She is also writing a book.

"I wanted it to be more than my story; I wanted it to become a guide for other survivors, showing them that seeking justice is possible, even when the path is painful and deeply flawed," she said.

"Through my lived experience, I want to reveal not only how the justice system should protect survivors, but also where it fails them. By telling the truth without compromise, this book becomes both testimony and a call for urgent change in our laws and society."

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: "Child abuse is a horrific crime that can cause everlasting damage and our thoughts are with victims like Caroline as they work to rebuild their lives.

"Courts must sentence offenders according to the law in place at the time the offence occurred, but judges can still consider the full seriousness of the harm caused when setting punishments.

"This government is also investing more than half a billion pounds into victim support services to help more victims than ever through the justice system."