Case review reveals details of Sunderland sex attack

SOCIAL workers “consistently failed” to protect a vulnerable 11-year-old schoolboy who went on to rape a disabled child, a report has found.

Desperate pleas were made by a child psychologist for the refugee to be taken into care after his father died abroad.

But Sunderland council workers failed to take advice from Dr Stephen Westgarth and the boy, known only as Child X, launched a violent assault on a nine-year-old boy.

The youngster lured his victim into a bedroom with the promise of playing an XBox game before launching a sexual assault.

Now a Serious Case Review has shown that systematic failings and a lack of communication between as many as 21 organisations left the youngster free to launch his attack.

Flaws identified revealed council staff had failed to act on information and criticised the actions of children’s services on Wearside.

The report states: “The lessons to be drawn from this serious case review for Sunderland Children’s Services Social Care are significant. They consistently failed in their statutory duties to safeguard Child X. Child Adolescent Mental Health Service were involved and latterly made representation to Sunderland Children’s Services Social Care.

“Unfortunately these were not listened to or acted upon before a serious offence took place.”

The rape took place while the youngster was awaiting trial after being accused of sexually assaulting two 10-year-old girls in December 2008 and an 11-year-old girl between March and June 2009.

These charges were later dropped in court. In November 2009, the youth was sent to a detention centre for four-and-a-half years after admitting the attack.

During police interviews the defendant said he had been raped himself several times before the attack. But the Crown Prosecution Service chose not to pursue the case as there was “no reasonable prospect of conviction”. The court heard the defendant had been reprimanded in 2009 for common assault on a 16-year-old boy. He was also given a 12-month conditional discharge after he admitted causing unnecessary suffering to two chickens after kicking them to death.

At the time Dr Helen Paterson was in charge of children’s services at Sunderland City Council, but following the case she became the strategic director of transformation. She has since moved to Wrexham County Borough Council as chief executive.

Last night Wearside MP Bridget Phillipson said lessons must be learnt from the tragic case. She said: “I sincerely hope all of the recommendations are acted upon so that this never happens again.”

In the report, the boy’s family claimed that they had not been given adequate help from agency staff, but the report found that “in reality there were a large number of resources going into supporting the family”.

It added: “It was the lack of assessment of Child X’s needs and risk of harm, the failure to follow inter-agency guidance and the lack of a consistent lead professional to co-ordinate and overview services that impacted upon the ability of the involved services to meet the needs of Child X and his family.

“It was the responsibility of Sunderland Children’s Services Social Care to take the lead in this case.”

The dossier has taken over 18 months to compile and was delayed four times due to the “complexities of the case”.

Child X, described in the report as “maltreated”, with “significant behavioural problems” and “in need of protection”, arrived in the UK in 2001.

He lived with his mother at various addresses across the capital and it was while he was there that health experts raised concerns over his well-being.

The youngster had witnessed horrific domestic violence attacks in his home as well as showing a poor relationship with his mother. In 2003, they were moved to Sunderland where concerns from a range of professionals continued to escalate.

When he was placed in a Sunderland school, teachers became worried about Child X’s behaviour as he made inappropriate remarks of a sexual nature.

Two social workers, a man and a woman, became specifically involved with providing support to the boy and his family. Both later died from medical conditions.

But despite fears raised about his care, the report found that their approach was “poorly planned” and there was “professional mistrust” between agencies.

Jan Van Wagtendonk, the independent chairman of Sunderland Safeguarding Children Board, said: “I wish to express my regret that any young person has been subjected to a serious offence, and that it was not prevented.

“This is a complex case, as can be seen by the many agencies involved in a number of areas across the country.

“We accept the findings of the Executive Summary and the many recommendations it makes, all of which have been followed.”