| Couple who fed baby raw fruit spared jail |
Parents whose baby died after they fed her on raw fruit have been spared jail by an Old Bailey judge.
Judge David Paget said Hasmik and Garabet Manuelyan had been punished and will continue to be punished by the loss of nine-month-old Areni.
The couple from Staines, had continued to feed the baby girl on an unorthodox diet despite the warnings of doctors and other professionals.
Areni died in July last year of malnutrition weighing only 60% of what should have been her normal body weight.
The 45-year-old couple pleaded guilty to child cruelty - a charge which would normally have resulted in a prison sentence.
But Judge Paget placed them under a community rehabilitation order for three years.
He said: "This is a wholly exceptional and tragic case. You have been punished and will continue to be punished by the consequences of your actions."
The prosecution told the court it was accepted that the couple had acted out of love and a belief they were doing the best for the baby.
Story filed: 13:54 Friday 14th September 2001
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