04 February 2023 , 21:15
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The mum who adopted amputee Tony Hudgell has hit out after one of his torturers went free, saying: “Our justice system is so weak”.
Paula Hudgell, 55, lashed out after the lad’s birth mum Jody Simpson, 29, won a High Court battle on Friday to be released after serving six years of a 10-year term.
Speaking from the family home in Kent, stunned Paula said: “I am cross our justice system is so weak.
“I feel it would have been right for her to prove herself to a parole board and for our six-page victim statement to have been read and taken into consideration.
“It cuts hard, especially in the very week we heard that Tony will struggle to ever walk freely with prosthetics and may never even stand totally upright.”
Teen 'kept as slave, starved and beaten' sues adoptive parents and authorities
Tony required two amputations after suffering horrific abuse (Adam Gerrard / Daily Mirror)Simpson, who with her evil lover Anthony Smith, 53, battered Tony so badly he needed a double amputation, is now enjoying freedom in a bail hostel.
She had originally been due for release in August but Justice Secretary Dominic Raab blocked it.
Lawyers took her case to the Court of Appeal where a judge upheld it but let the Ministry of Justice appeal.
Tony’s adoptive family were told the devastating news that the final attempt to keep Simpson behind bars had failed on Friday. Smith, jailed 10 years, may also be out soon.
Jody Simpson won a High Court battle for her release on Friday (Kent Police)
Brutal lover Smith could be freed soon (Kent Police)Paula told Tony but the inspiring youngster had already second-guessed his mum.
She said: “He just said, ‘I can read your mind. She’s been released’. He was so matter-of-fact and grown up about it. He surprised me with such a mature reaction.”
Paula won an OBE for campaigning for Tony’s Law which raised the maximum jail for physical harm to a child from 10 years to 14 and for causing the death of a child from 14 years to life.
She added: “Thankfully that’s the legacy Tony has made to protect others.”