NewsColony

Family courts are STILL handing out prison sentences in secret NewsColony The father of a toddler has been handed a prison sentence anonymously in a revival of secret jailings in family courts.  The man, identified only as DZ, was given a 12-month suspended term for contempt of court.  The decision to hand out an anonymous jail sentence runs against orders for judges which say that the public naming of individuals sent to prison is ‘mandatory’ with ‘no exceptions’.  The ruling sets out that the father received a suspended prison term because he faked a drug test to persuade the court to allow him to have contact with his son. A stock image is used above [File photo] This rule applies to sentences in which people are jailed immediately and suspended sentences.  But there are now tighter restrictions on information released by family courts in order to provide anonymity for children.  Designated Family Judge Anthony Hughes, who is in charge of f...