Men convicted of fatal abuse of toddler

LONDON, Nov. 11 (UPI) -- Two London men were convicted Tuesday of using a 17-month-old boy "as a punch bag," causing his death after months of abuse.

The case of "Baby P" has also raised questions about how police and social services deal with suspected abuse, The Telegraph reported. Baby P was seen two days before his death in August 2007 by a doctor who failed to notice his broken spine, and his mother was able to deceive people who examined the boy by covering his injuries with chocolate.

Those convicted were the mother's 32-year-old boyfriend and Jason Owen, 36, who lived with the couple and the toddler in North London. They were found guilty of causing or allowing the boy's death by using him as a "punch bag" over an eight-month period.

The mother, 27, had already pleaded guilty.

Under British law, the mother, boyfriend and child cannot be named.

A detective described the boyfriend as a sadist and the mother as a "slob" who was "divorced from reality."

"She was living in a dream world and put her lover before her child," he said. "She closed her eyes to what was going on."