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Two British women who were repeatedly raped and violently
abused by their father, bearing him seven children over 25 years,
have been given a formal apology by child protection agencies for
systemic failure.
The admission was made during the publication of an executive
summary into a review of the case, which acknowledged the family
concerned had had contact with 28 different public agencies and 100
members of staff over 35 years.
No one has been sacked or disciplined for the catalogue of errors,
the multiple agencies involved said at a joint press conference in
Derby where they lined up to apologise.
The 56-year-old father from Sheffield, who cannot be named for
legal reasons, is serving a life sentence for repeatedly raping his
daughters, whom he made pregnant a total of 18 times.
He was jailed in 2008.
The man, whose crimes have been likened to those of the Austrian
rapist Josef Fritzl, fathered seven children with the women, two of
whom are severely disabled.
The review heard how he moved his family 67 times to keep his
crimes secret.
In November, Sheffield Crown Court heard the abuse started when the
women were aged between eight and 10.
If they refused their father's advances, they were badly beaten and
sometimes held to the flames of a gas fire.
Sheffield and Lincolnshire's Safeguarding Children Boards
apologised unreservedly for failing to help the two women,
insisting lessons had been learned and systems changed.
"We want to apologise to the family at the heart of this case. It
will be clear that we failed this family," said Sue Fiennes,
independent chair of Sheffield Safeguarding Children Board.
"This report will not make comfortable reading for any of the
organisations concerned with the family. We are all committed to
working relentlessly to do all we can to minimise the risk of this
happening again and indeed we have taken action."
At a joint press conference in Derby the numerous agencies involved
say they were all to blame.
"No individual has been dismissed, or disciplined, or sacked. We
failed this family because of an accumulation of acts that lead to
a collective failure," said Chris Cook, Independent Chair of
Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Board.
"We are genuinely sorry. We should have protected you."
