Teenagers sentenced for Newcastle Primark toddler abduction

Two teenagers who kidnapped a toddler in Primark have been sentenced.

The girls, 13 and 14,  face three years and three months in prison, having admitted the kidnapping at a hearing in June.

The incident, which occurred in April, saw the two girls entice and abduct a toddler from her mother, before disappearing with the girl for almost two hours.

The child was found an hour and 45 minutes later in a park in Gosforth, after the girls were tracked by CCTV.

The two teens had taken time out of school in order to wait around in the clothes shop for a victim.

They had attempted to take two other toddlers in the process, but to no avail.

The girls’ earlier claims that they had been forced to seize the toddler by a third party were dismissed, with Mr Justice Globe instead stating that the child was at risk of physical or sexual violence.

This was a reference to the internet searches found on a tablet belonging to the younger defendant.

He said: “The internet history shows hundreds of searches in relation to pornographic topics which include children having sex, rape, slavery and abduction.”

At the time of the kidnap, the mother of the victim was described by one witness as “banging her head against a wall, she was so utterly distraught.”