Image copyright Merseyside Police A hit-and-run killer has had his jail term increased after he put posts on social media from inside prison.
Aidan McAteer was jailed after hitting Violet-Grace Youens, aged 4, in a stolen car he had driven at 80mph in a 30mph zone, in Merseyside, on 24 March.
He fled to Amsterdam but later admitted causing death by dangerous driving and was jailed in May for nine years and four months.
In the summer, he marked his 24th birthday by posting an image of a card.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed McAteer would receive additional time in jail.
It is a criminal offence to bring a mobile phone into prison and to use it in a jail to send audio or images.
Posts ‘disrespectful’
The offences carry a maximum penalty of two years in prison.
Writing on Facebook earlier this year, Violet-Grace’s mother, Rebecca Youens, branded McAteer’s actions “disrespectful”.
The girl’s father, Glenn, also wrote at the time that “anything extra you get inside is no less than you deserve”.
Violet-Grace’s grandmother Angela French was also seriously injured in the crash.
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Dean Brennan, a passenger in the car, was jailed for six years and eight months after admitting aggravated vehicle-taking and assisting an offender.
Both men were also ordered to serve driving bans after they are released from jail.
Liverpool Crown Court heard the Ford Fiesta, stolen from a community worker who works with young offenders, was driven through two red lights before McAteer – who did not have a driving licence – lost control on Prescot Road and the car mounted the pavement.
He crashed into Mrs French who had her granddaughter in her arms.
The car then hit a lamppost and the defendants, both from Prescot, got out and ran past Violet-Grace as she lay injured on the ground.
Following the crash, McAteer’s mother Alicia made a public appeal to her son to return home, who was arrested the next day after arriving back from Amsterdam at Manchester Airport.
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