Rapist Father Given Life Sentence
Sheffield Abuse Case
28/11/08
A man who fathered nine children by raping his two daughters over many years has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 19-and-a half years. The 56-year-old from Sheffield was sentenced to a life term for each of the 25 rapes he had admitted. The attacks led to 19 pregnancies.
Nine of the children were born, two of whom died on the day of their birth. The other 10 pregnancies were miscarried or aborted. The daughters' statement through South Yorkshire Police added: "The suffering he caused will continue for many years and we must now concentrate our thoughts on finding the strength to rebuild our lives."
The father moved the family from village to village in rural locations to keep them isolated and to try to avoid detection. Sheffield Crown Court was told that he "took pleasure" in knowing the harm he was doing to his daughters. Judge Alan Goldsack QC said: "Questions will inevitably be asked about what professionals and social and medical workers have been doing for the last 20 years."
Jayne Ludlam, director of children's and young people's services at Sheffield City Council, said the abuse was revealed to social workers in June. Ms Ludlam said: "This is one of the most harrowing cases we have had to deal with and to say we are shocked to find this level of abuse being perpetrated by this person is an understatement. Due to the seriousness of this case an independent review has already been launched which will look into the circumstances surrounding the case and the contact the agencies had with the victims.
The court heard that the sexual abuse started when the two sisters were prepubescent but that they only realised the other was being abused when they became pregnant some years later. The court heard that on a number of occasions doctors advised the women to stop having children by the same father.
On one occasion, the women called Childline and asked for a guarantee that they could keep their children, but when one was not offered they ended the call.
The Prime Minister has said any necessary changes will be made to the system in the wake of this abuse. His comments follow demands by MPs in Sheffield to know how the father's actions went undetected by agencies.
During Prime Minister's Questions at the House of Commons, Gordon Brown said: "People will want to know how such abuse could go on for so long without the authorities and the wider public services discovering it and taking action. If there is a change to be made in the system and the system has failed, we will change the system."
Sallie Booth from law firm Irwin Mitchell said: "It is incredible that this man was able to continue this horrific abuse for over twenty years, and that family, friends and the medical and educational authorities did not appear to identify what was going on. We are pleased to learn that politicians at the highest level are showing their support in investigating this matter further.
Whilst it will be incredibly difficult for the daughters and their children to re-build their lives and move on, survivors of abuse may be able to obtain redress in the form of compensation and such for their suffering and for support counselling and other medical treatment to assist in their recovery.”
If you or someone you know has been affected by abuse please contact our specialist team for free advice.