When the story of then 13-year-old Alfie Patten went viral, then Prime Minister David Cameron stated, “I just thought how worrying that in Britain today children are having children.”
Even before reaching the legal age to buy party poppers, Alfie became the youngest ever father in Britain. It was later determined that another young man, slightly older than Alfie was the real father, and this incident ruined Alfie’s life completely. Even today, he’s facing plenty of issues, including alcohol abuse and problems with the law.
However, the story of Alfie and the girl who gave birth to his alleged daughter isn’t the only one of youngsters becoming parents in Britain.
Tressa Middleton, once known as Britain’s youngest mother after giving birth at just 12 years old, has announced she is expecting her fourth child.
Now 29, Middleton shared the news on social media, posting a photo of her ultrasound. Her latest pregnancy comes 17 years after she first made headlines.
“So guys, it’s another girl!!” she wrote in the caption. “Four girls, I can’t believe it. Good luck, Darren.”
Tressa’s story is a heartbreaking one. Her parents were alcohol and drug abusers and her childhood was a tough one, to say the least.
Tressa Middleton became pregnant at 11 and gave birth at 12, shortly after completing elementary school.
After her daughter’s birth, the young mother struggled with depression and began using drugs and alcohol, which led to her losing custody of her child. The baby was placed for adoption.
The identity of the father remained a secret until 2009, three years after Tressa gave birth.
In 2009, 34-year-old Jason was found guilty and sentenced to four years in prison.
In a 2011 interview with The Daily Mail, Tressa revealed that sometimes he would blackmail or bribe her into complying.
“He’d threaten to tell Mum,” she said. “He’d give me things—joints, alcohol, cigarettes—or he’d threaten me.”
Since then, Tressa has worked hard to rebuild her life and overcome her addictions, which once cost her around £400 a day.
Up until 2011, Tressa was considered to be the youngest mother in Britain. But then, the news of an 11-year-old girl who gave birth filled the headlines.
“It has come as a big shock,” a family friend said in 2021 to The Sun.
“She’s now being surrounded by expert help. The main thing is that she and the baby are OK.”
Before Alfie’s case, Sean Stewart was believed to be the youngest father in Britain.
In 1998, Sean’s 15-year-old neighbor, Emma Webster, became pregnant with his child. At the time, Sean was just 11 years old.
A month after turning 12, Sean’s son, Ben Louis, was born, and Sean was given a day off from school to mark the occasion.
Sean and Emma were neighbors, and according to Emma, he would often climb onto her rooftop to visit her.
“He said he was 12. I would never have gone out with him if I’d known he was only 11,” she told The Sunday Telegraph at the time.
After giving birth, Emma married someone else and moved into a £200,000 house, while Sean continued attending school before eventually leaving Bedfordshire in his early teens.
According to The Daily Mail, Sean was incarcerated for seven months in the early 2000s for theft.
Speaking about him, Emma stated, “I don’t know where Sean is or what he’s doing. I don’t want to talk about it anymore because I don’t think it helps Ben.”
One of the most shocking stories of all is that of Lina Medina from Peru, who gave birth at just five years old. Now 89, Medina made history in 1939 as the youngest mother ever recorded.
She was reportedly diagnosed with “precocious puberty,” a condition that causes early onset puberty.
At the time, it was speculated that her child was fathered by her own father. However, he was eventually cleared of all charges due to lack of evidence.
Teenage couples of a comparable age who have consensual s*x in the UK and are under the legal consent age of 16 are unlikely to face legal action.
But all s****l activity with children under the age of 13 is illegal.
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