Mother 'failed' to protect four-year-old daughter from sexual abuse, court hears

A four-year-old girl who was sexually abused by her mother’s partner and had her mouth taped shut and legs bound together to prevent her from getting out of bed told her foster carer she was a “devil child”, a court has heard.

The toddler, who has not been named, has been permanently removed from the care of her mother after a family court judge ruled she had been living in “a harsh, critical and abusive environment”. She is now in the hands of a foster carer and is undergoing therapy.

The harrowing details of the case emerged in a written ruling by Judge Rebecca Brown, who presided over an earlier hearing at Milton Keynes Family Court in Buckinghamshire. She said the little girl’s new carer had kept a record of what she said and did, which was presented as evidence to the court.

Judge Brown concluded that the little girl had been sexually abused by her mother’s partner, who she referred to as “daddy”. Her mother, who was described as having “psychological and personality difficulties”, had failed to protect her from the abuse and had behaved in a sexually inappropriate way in front of her young daughter, the judge added.

The girl’s foster carer reported that she referred to herself as “devil child” and had once asked to wash her hands more than 50 times in one day. She also told her carer to “please tell daddy I’ve been good” and said her mother “headbutts me” and “bites me”.


http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/mother-failed-to-protect-fouryearold-daughter-from-sexual-abuse-court-hears-9600917.html