- A paedophile in Leeds was given custody of a young girl who he sexually abused
- A report reveals that major failings by authorities led to the custody decision
- The serial abuse was finally uncovered when the child became pregnant
A convicted paedophile was given custody of a young girl who he then sexually abused over several years and got pregnant, a damning new report finds.
Despite local authorities knowing the Leeds man’s past as a sexual predator, he was still allowed to become Ruby’s (not her real name) legal guardian.
The shocking report, commissioned by Leeds Safeguarding Children Partnership, discovered that serious failings on behalf of the local authorities led to custody decision.
The independent review found that although professionals had concerns over the man’s previous convictions, they did not seek legal advice as they should have done and instead granted the paedophile guardianship over Ruby.
The independent author of the report believes the authorities made the ill-fated mistake because of an ‘over-reliance’ on old assessments that the man posed a ‘relatively low risk to young girls’.
He had committed multiple child sexual offences in the years before he was given custody.
The report, undertaken by representatives of Leeds City Council, West Yorkshire Police and the local NHS, claims that a serious lack of ‘professional curiosity’ led to the gross miscalculation that he did not pose a threat.
Even whilst Ruby was under the care of her abuser, he was arrested on suspicion of child pornography on his computer but was later released due to a lack of evidence.
After years of serial mistreatment, grooming and sexual abuse, the truth was finally uncovered when Ruby became pregnant and tried to access an abortion. The young girl was then referred to social services as she was under the age of consent.
Although initially Ruby claimed that the father was a boy her age, further tests revealed that her legal guardian was responsible for the pregnancy.
The grim extent of his manipulation was exposed when Ruby told the commission that she hadn’t recognised it as abuse as it had gone on for longer than she could remember.
She also recalled how her legal guardian had blocked attempts for social services to speak to her alone when they visited and how he had threatened to kill himself if she revealed the abuse to anyone.
During the lockdown, Ruby ‘petrified’ had tried to make a break for it and knocked on a strangers door. As she was not reported missing, the local authorities were not called.
The report stated: ‘Throughout the process of this review, neither the independent author nor the independent chair have heard from any professional who has not expressed concern regarding the decision made in court.
‘Yet, at the time, all trusted the assessment of risk that (the offender) could potentially pose and accepted the court decision.’
In response to the review, Leeds Safeguarding Children Partnership said: ‘Significant changes to systems and practice have been implemented as a result of the important learning achieved through the review.
They added: ‘other related multi-agency developments are underway that will result in further improvement.’
REFERENCE:
- https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/01/convicted-child-sex-offender-given-custody-little-girl-gets-pregnant/
- https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11684007/Convicted-paedophile-given-custody-young-girl-got-pregnant-sexually-abused-years.html
- https://www.lbc.co.uk/news/convicted-paedophile-given-custody-of-young-girl-and-gets-her-pregnant/
By: Miss Cherry May Timbol – Independent Reporter
