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Boy, 11, forced to go to bed in leather blindfold, straitjacket and shackles.

A stepfather shackled an 11-year-old boy to his bed and made him wear a straitjacket in the belief if would help him sleep better, a court has heard.

A stepfather shackled an 11-year-old boy to his bed and made him wear a straitjacket in the belief if would help him sleep better, a court has heard.

The 39-year-old man, with an interest in bondage, bought the straitjacket online but used his own workshop to make ankle straps, chest straps, and a special 'helmet' from leather and buckles to cover the child's eyes.

The boy also had to wear a surgical collar while in bed to stop him moving his head, Doncaster Crown Court heard.

The court heard the man wrongly believed his stepson, who had behavioural problems, suffered from autism and thought the restraint technique would benefit him.

The straitjacket and leather restraints used by the man were shown to the horrified judge who jailed him for three years. The boy's 37-year-old mother was locked up for two years for allowing the abuse to take place.

The court was told yesterday the defendant was said to have made contact over the internet with other men said to be interested in restraint methods.

Both defendants pleaded guilty to child cruelty over a 12-month period from 2008 to 2009.

The boy, who cannot be identified is now with foster parents in Scotland. He has said he does not want to see his mother again.

Judge Jacqueline Davies told the couple they had an obligation to nurture and care for the boy and had 'betrayed that trust in the most grotesque way'.

She said: 'What happened to this young man over a period is that he was physically restrained in the most appalling way.

'It is difficult for any normal human being to understand how you could have done this to any human being.

Read more at the Mail Online