The child’s mother, who suffers from what the court was told was ‘battered person syndrome’, received a ten year sentence for her part in years of abuse.
CHILD MIGHT NEVER RECOVER
The Court heard that the man had effectively groomed his wife, whom he met when she was 16, and controlled access to medication she required for a mental health condition. The woman, now in her 20s, was ordered to be detained in a psychiatric hospital for treatment.
On sentencing the pair at Swansea Crown Court, HHJ Geraint Walters QC ordered that the father, in his 50s, go to prison for a minimum of twelve years and was only to be released if and when it was determined that he did not pose a risk to children. Judge Walters observed it was possible that might never happen.
To protect their victim/daughter, the Court has ordered a blanket ban on reporting the parents’ names and the name of the west Wales town in which they perpetrated their appalling crimes.
HHJ Walters said that it was hard to see how their daughter could ever recover from the depravity inflicted upon her.
During her eight years in west Wales, the child never went to school, played outside, saw a cat or a dog or had a friend.
‘HOME SCHOOLING’ CONCEALED ABUSE
The husband’s ‘home-schooling’ of his daughter was only camouflage for effectively keeping her as a sex slave, said the Judge: “Not exactly locking her in a cellar but not far from it.”
There were padlocks on all the doors and the curtains were always kept closed.
The girl was never allowed out and, consequently, had never played with friends, or gone swimming. She had never seen Christmas lights and had no concept of a celebration.
Prosecuting Council Robin Rouch told the Court that the ‘tightly controlled home environment’ was created by the father to ‘systematically and regularly abuse’ his daughter without being discovered.
A spokesperson for NSPCC Cymru said: “The prolonged abuse – physical, sexual and emotional – suffered by this young victim is appalling and deeply disturbing.
“The role a parent is to protect and support their child, but the couple in this case simply saw in their daughter an opportunity to inflict repeated sexual attacks.”
CALL FOR HOME SCHOOLED REGISTER
The case has reignited calls for home-schooled children to be registered by local authorities and for more active monitoring of the welfare of those children who received education outside traditional schooling.
Mid and West Wales AM Helen Mary Jones said: “The vast majority of home-schooling is a good choice made by good parents, but we know there is a small minority where things go wrong and I believe we should have those children registered – we should know they’re being home-schooled.
“I also think an annual medical check – it’s quite common when children are in primary school, they may see the school dentist or the school nurse – as a precaution, it would be really useful.”
The case has drawn comparisons with the case of Dylan Seabridge, who was effectively invisible to social and health services and who died of scurvy whilst being ‘home-schooled’ in 2011.
Dylan Seabridge – who lived in a remote Pembrokeshire community with his parents and older sibling – died of scurvy in December 2011 aged eight-years-old.
Criminal proceedings against Dylan’s parents in relation to their son’s death were halted over concerns about his mother’s mental health.
There were no allegations of sexual abuse in the Seabridge case.
An independent report into the death of Dylan Seabridge written by Gladys Rhodes White OBE, a national expert in safeguarding and child protection, recommended that the Welsh Government change the law so that the details of all elective home educated children are kept on a register and that they are seen and spoken to and their wishes recorded on an annual basis.
At present there is no such requirement and the law does not state any general requirement for parents to inform the education directorate if their child or children were never on a school roll.
Home education’s supporters say that registration would be an unwarranted intrusion into families’ lives. In addition they claim that there is no evidence to support a contention that home-schooled children are at a greater risk of neglect than those attending a state school. There is also a distinction between those children who are home-schooled and those who are ‘kept at home’ for other reasons.
Children’s Commissioner for Wales Sally Holland disagrees: “I’ve been calling for the government to act in a stronger way, so have all the directors of education in Wales, all the directors of social services and the government’s own independent safeguarding board.
“For me the pace of change has been too slow and hasn’t been strong enough to ensure every child gets the right to an education to be safe and to have their say.”
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “Earlier this year the education secretary announced plans to consult on regulations that will require local authorities to establish a database to identify children not on a school register.
“We are also reviewing and updating national protection procedures to examine how social services and education practitioners can work together and share information to ensure children who are home-schooled get the support they need.”
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