'Not even fit to care for a dog'

A SENIOR police officer today slammed the decision to leave Child A in the care of her sex offender father - saying he could not be trusted to look after a dog.

Inspector Robert Marsden, of Merseyside Police, who led inquiries into paedophile activity within Ashworth Hospital, said he was astonished that a case conference into Child A's welfare in 1992 had concluded that she was safe with her Dad.

"I think this was a horrendous decision," he said.

"I do not agree with the argument that it was all right because he was into older girls. I have always said, and I told the inquiry, that Child A was being groomed for paedophile activity and I have no doubt about that. She should never have been put back into the hands of her father.

"I wouldn't even allow him to look after a dog."

The girl's Liverpool-born father abducted a 16-year-old girl at knifepoint in 1976 and committed a serious sexual assault.

He was convicted at Winchester Crown Court and served nine years for the offence, including a stint as a patient at Ashworth Hospital between 1982 and 1985.

There, he became friendly with two other patients: notorious child molester Peter Hemming who had forced girls as young as nine to perform oral sex on him; and child killer Paul Corrigan. Later, he introduced his own daughter to the pair and encouraged her to play with them during more than 150 visits to the high security unit.

"Child A's father is an arrogant man, a manipulative individual and a typical psychopath, in my opinion," said Inspector Marsden.

"He is a very manipulative, very dominant person. In my opinion, he should not be out and about now, he presents a danger to young females.

"Ashworth has to take the blame for what happened but I don't think Bradford social services can exactly wash their hands of this."

Swift action was taken to remove Child A from her father when the chaotic operations of Ashworth Hospital's Lawrence Ward were revealed in January 1997.

The police inquiry into trafficking of child porn inside the hospital concluded in September 1997 but the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to proceed.

Inspector's damning verdict on father of Child A

A call was today made for an independent investigation into Bradford Council's handling of the case of Child A - the girl at the centre of the Ashworth Hospital scandal.

The Council first looked at whether the girl was safe in the custody of her sex offender father in 1992.

But it was only in January 1997 that she was taken away from him and placed in care - a decision described in the damning Fallon Report into the Ash-worth affair as "long overdue".

Senior officers have since defended the decision not to put the girl on the 'at risk' register in 1992 - even though she was living alone with her father, a former Ashworth patient who had served a nine-year sentence for abducting and sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl at knifepoint.

The Council is carrying out an internal inquiry into its handling of Child A's care but today a Conservative councillor said the inquiry should be independent to ensure the public retains confidence in the Council's systems for protecting children.

Councillor Simon Cooke (Con, Bingley Rural) said: "The seriousness of this case demands nothing less than the setting up of a proper independent inquiry."

The Fallon Report reveals the shocking extent of the breakdown of control at Ashworth Hospital and Child A's association with paedophiles. But it does not criticise Bradford Social Services although it says the decision to place her in care should have been taken sooner.

Plea for details from Ashworth 'went unheeded'

Bradford Council blames Ashworth Hospital officials for failing to tell them about the dangers Child A was exposed to during her visits.

A complete breakdown in communication was revealed in the Fallon Report.

Not only had the hospital turned a blind eye to hundreds of visits by Child A, during which she was able to play unsupervised with two of the unit's most notorious paedophiles, some staff had actively encouraged it as 'therapy' for the disturbed inmates.

They never contacted Bradford Council to raise any concerns and it was only when patient Stephen Daggett blew the whistle on what was going on that she was taken into care.

Bradford Council had attempted to check on her father's medical history before deciding if he could keep custody of her in 1992 - but their written request to the hospital went unanswered.

The Fallon report severely criticises an Ashworth doctor, Dr Joseph Sylvester, for this "serious oversight which deprived Bradford Social Services of important information ... which might have been a contributory factor in Child A remaining in the care of her father."

There was no further contact between Bradford and Ashworth until November 1996, according to the Fallon Report. The council's own inquiry will now examine whether the efforts to get information about Child A's father and her hospital visits were strenuous enough.

'We will learn harsh lesson'

Lessons will be learned in Bradford from the Child A affair, social services chiefs pledged today.

An inquiry is underway by the Airedale Child Protection Committee into Bradford Council's handling of the case.

The girl - now nine and said to be thriving with a new foster family - first became known to social workers in 1992, when she was three-years-old.

A case conference involving social workers, police, education officials and legal officers was held in 1992 which concluded the girl was safe living with her father.

It was decided not to put the girl on the 'at risk' register, even though her father was a former Ashworth patient and convicted sex offender who had served nine years for kidnapping a 16-year-old girl and committed a serious sexual attack on her.

Liam Hughes, director of social services, said today: "The whole purpose of having this system of reviews is that the Airedale Child Protection Committee can advise of any changes that are needed for the future.

"I always expect there can be things learned, even in situations where nothing has gone wrong there's learning.

"With hindsight, this girl was exposed to very dangerous circumstances and they will want to give advice."

He stressed that early indications suggested that there was nothing in Bradford's handling of the case that would warrant disciplinary proceedings against any member of staff.

The report will be forwarded to the Social Services Inspectorate.

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