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Abduction flight mother is jailed Abduction flight mother is jailed
(11 minutes later)
A woman who abducted her two daughters and took them to Morocco after losing a custody battle has been jailed. A woman who abducted her two daughters and took them to Morocco after losing a custody battle has been jailed for 10 months.
Trudy Crofts, 30, of Blackpool, Lancashire, flew Carene, 13, and 11-year-old Shelby, to Spain then took a ferry to North Africa in 2009.Trudy Crofts, 30, of Blackpool, Lancashire, flew Carene, 13, and 11-year-old Shelby, to Spain then took a ferry to North Africa in 2009.
The girls, who were left with her new husband's family, were reunited with their grandmother Rita Astbury in December, Preston Crown Court heard. She left them with her new husband's family and returned to Spain.
Judge Anthony Russell QC sentenced Croft to 10 months in prison. They were reunited with their grandmother Rita Astbury in December, Preston Crown Court heard.
He said the children "must have been terrified" by their three-month ordeal. Judge Anthony Russell QC said the children "must have been terrified" by their three-month ordeal.
The children had been in the care of their grandmother since 2002 after Crofts lost her place in a hostel for the homeless.
Whatever else she has done she clearly loves the children and had no desire to expose them to any danger Julie Taylor, defending
Crofts fled to Spain with the girls on 17 August, a day after telling her mother that she was taking them swimming.
Kevin Slack, prosecuting, said the defendant had married a Moroccan man in Spain in the summer of 2009, before fleeing to his home country when she realised police were looking for her.
"Having gone there she left the children in the care of others and returned to Spain," he said.
The High Court later ordered the repatriation of the children and Crofts was given a 12-month jail sentence when she failed to comply.
On Monday, Preston Crown Court heard that the girls were subjected to "physical and emotional abuse" at the home they were left in.
Julie Taylor, defending, said her client had left the children in Morocco as she attempted to resolve the matter with the courts.
Planning and 'deception'
She said: "The defendant will say she had no idea that she exposed them to any difficulties or dangers. She believed that they were going to be well cared for in her absence.
"Whatever else she has done she clearly loves the children and had no desire to expose them to any danger.
"She has always believed she was acting in the best interests of her children in what she did."
Crofts, of Peter Street, pleaded guilty to two counts of child abduction at an earlier hearing.
Judge Russell said: "Abducting your children from the legal guardian is a serious criminal offence.
"There was a degree of planning and an element of deception here. You must have caused considerable distress to your mother.
"As it turns out you left them with people who should not have been looking after them. They were emotionally and physically abused.
"They must have been terrified by the experience and also by not knowing what the future was."