Stepmother guilty of baby torture

Ikram (l) and Parveen face up to 14 years in jail

A stepmother has been found guilty of torturing her lover's 17-month old baby son to death.

Sumairia Parveen subjected Tahla Ikram to abuse before he died in September 2006, Southwark Crown Court heard.

He was burnt with a cigarette and had his leg repeatedly sliced open until his tendons and veins were exposed.

Parveen, 24, and lover Abid Ikram, 30, both from Ealing, west London, were cleared of murder but convicted of causing or allowing the child's death.

The court heard how the boy's father stood by and did nothing while the abuse happened.

'Caring father' tortured son Questions over Tahla's death

The child was taken to Ealing Hospital in west London six times and was seen by at least seven different doctors in the 20 days preceding his death, Jeremy Donne QC, for prosecution, said.

Ikram had been formally cautioned for child neglect in March 2006 after police found Tahla alone at home.

The boy was placed in foster care, but within months he was handed back to Ikram.

Parveen began the affair with Ikram after walking out on her husband but she hated Tahla who she felt threatened their relationship, the court heard.

While she showered her own daughter with love, Tahla was subjected to weeks of abuse, the court was told.

His many injuries included a broken thigh and shin and three fractured ribs. Many of his injuries were ignored for days, causing him to scream as his broken bones ground together.

Ikram and Parveen, who are both originally from Pakistan, took Tahla back to the hospital five times, after his leg was initially put in a cast, claiming that the casts kept slipping off, the court heard.

A doctor who examined the baby said he looked like a car accident victim.

The pair, who could face up to 14 years in jail, will be sentenced in September.