A NOTTINGHAM mother jailed for biting, pinching and spanking her son in front of nursery staff has failed to convince top judges she did not receive a fair trial.
The woman, in her 30s, who cannot be named, denied subjecting her three-year-old to excessive discipline and accused the nursery of trying to hide its own abuse.
But her counter-allegations were rejected and she was convicted of two counts of child cruelty.
She was given a 20-week sentence, suspended for two years, at Nottingham Crown Court in June, 2010.
Yesterday, three of the country's most senior judges rebuffed a bid by the mother at London's Court of Appeal to have her record wiped clean, saying her convictions were "safe".
Lord Justice Elias said the woman was spotted assaulting her son by nursery staff, "pinching his arm and, whilst doing so, twisting her fingers and then biting his arm over his jumper".
The next month nursery staff spotted her spanking the boy with clothes and then her hand, prompting the manager to report the abuse to child protection services.
Lord Justice Elias said the boy was found to have bruises on his right upper-flank and his left upper arm, as well as bite marks, when he was examined by care professionals.
Questioned by police, the mother denied assaulting the boy but accepted she "shook his shoulders" or tapped his face to calm him down from time to time.
Furthermore, she alleged that the nursery had concocted the accusations to mask its own abuse of the boy. Her contentions were, however, firmly rejected by the jury.
On appeal, the woman's lawyers argued that the trial judge had failed to properly sum up the defence's case and to explain that the mother was of previous good character before sending out the jury.
But Lord Justice Elias said the woman's former counsel made the "reasonable decision" not to mention her good character during the trial because of a pending criminal charge she was to face.
