Two appear in court charged with FGM of three-year-old

In East London. From the Guardian and the London Evening Standard

A London couple were appearing in court today accused of carrying out the procedure. It is alleged the man, 42, and woman, 36 … mutilated the girl at their east London home. The girl is understood to have been rushed to hospital soon after the incident. The couple are believed to have blamed the wounds on a household accident. She underwent surgery immediately to stem the bleeding. 

The principal charge presented at Thames magistrates’ court today is the allegation of FGM. It accuses the couple of having “excised, infibulated or otherwise mutilated the whole or a part of a girl’s labia minora and clitoris” in August last year. 

The woman, a Ugandan national, is further accused of possessing an extreme pornographic image and of publishing videos of sexual activity with animals.

The man, from Ghana, faces a charge of possessing an extreme pornographic image and of publishing videos of sexual activity with animals. He is also accused of possessing indecent videos of a child, while the woman is accused of distributing an indecent video of children.

They are also charged with failing to protect a girl under 16 for whom they had responsibility from mutilation. The girl and a boy are understood to have been taken into care.

They were remanded in custody and are due to appear at the Old Bailey on 31 August.