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| Authorities Apologise To Sisters Raped By Father |
10-Mar-10
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| Investigation in South Yorks & Lincolnshire identifies 128 recommendations for improvement of services ... |
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Sheffield Crown Court heard how a British man, who is divorced, began sexually abusing his daughters when they were between eight and 10. But medical records show evidence of physical abuse from very early childhood. The eldest of the sisters was found to have bruises on her back, buttocks and arms when she was just five.
He "took pleasure" in assaulting the girls, the court heard, and the violent attacks would stop only while the children were pregnant.
"His younger daughter told of the frightening habit her father had of putting her head next to the flames of their gas fire and that when she struggled to get away on certain occasions she burnt her eyes," the prosecutor, Nicholas Campbell QC, told the court.
The court was told of his efforts to keep the abuse hidden. The girls were kept out of school when their injuries were visible and the family, including a brother who lived with them until his teens, moved repeatedly to avoid suspicion. His wife left in the early 1990s.
There were several contacts with authorities, however, who could have brought the attention to the police. In 1988 suspicions were raised at the victims' school due to their injuries, but these were blamed on bullying. One of the girls was asked by a doctor if her father was the father of her children, but she denied it. Her sister called Childline and asked for a guarantee that their children would not be taken away, but hung up when this assurance could not be given.
In sentencing, the judge, Alan Goldsack QC, said "The phrase 'it is difficult to imagine a worse case' is much overused and rarely, if ever, true. But I can say that in nearly 40 years of dealing with criminal cases and 14 as a family judge, the combination of aggravating circumstances here is the worst I have come across."
The suffering of the sisters is compounded by the poor health of their surviving children. All suffer from some form of incapacity, two of them are very severely incapacitated and one has been diagnosed with a fatal condition.
Local authorities in Lincolnshire and Sheffield today apologised to members of the family for failing to protect them from their father, who repeatedly raped and physically and sexually abused them over a period of 35 years.
The unreserved apology came in the aftermath of the publication of an executive summary of a serious case review by the Lincolnshire and Sheffield safeguarding children board of the family.
The 57-year-old man, from Sheffield – who cannot be identified – was jailed for life in November 2008 after one of his daughters alleged incest.
He repeatedly impregnated two daughters, and nine children were born. The case has echoes of that of Josef Fritzl, who imprisoned and raped his daughter.
The man admitted 25 rapes and four indecent assaults, with the attacks beginning in 1980 and continuing daily until 2008.
If the daughters resisted they were beaten, kicked and held by the flames of a gas fire.
Between 1975 and 2008 the family came into contact with 28 different agencies, involving more than 100 professionals.
The 39-page executive summary of the serious case review, written by Professor Pat Cantrill and spanning 35 years, found numerous opportunities to intervene "were missed individually and collectively".
The review made 128 recommendations for improving understanding, practice, procedures and training into intra-familial abuse.
It also recommended improvements in sharing information, record-keeping and support for professionals. All have been implemented or are being implemented.
Chris Cook, the independent chair of the Lincolnshire and Sheffield safeguarding children board, said "We are genuinely sorry. We should have protected you.
"This is a tragic and complicated case. The man responsible, who intimidated and frightened his family, was convicted of multiple counts of rape and is serving a life sentence."
Local authorities, police and health organisations also gave assurances that changes in safeguarding systems, process and practices now better protected families from abuse.
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For more information click on or go to http://www.guardian.co.uk |
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