Court of Appeal Apologises for Failure in Family Justice System

19/04/2018


It is the mark of a civilised and fair system of justice that, when judicial mistakes are made, they are publicly exposed. The Court of Appeal did just that in clearing an adoptive father of sexually abusing his troubled teenage daughter.

The girl, who was on the autistic spectrum, suffered from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder due to her chaotic early family life. She and her younger sister were ultimately taken into care by the local authority and she was aged seven or eight when placed with a couple who formally adopted her.

Following an initial honeymoon period, her behaviour progressively deteriorated and she was taken into care by the local authority after all agreed that she was beyond parental control. She subsequently accused her adoptive father of sexually abusing her 20 to 30 times over a three-month period. A fact finding hearing ensued and a family judge found that he had sexually interfered with her.

In upholding his appeal against that ruling, the Court acknowledged that the family justice system had manifestly failed to provide a sound resolution to the case. After the judge gave an oral ruling in the case, it had taken just under nine months to produce an approved transcript of her decision, which was in a number of respects fatally flawed.

The Court issued a formal apology to the teenager and her adoptive parents in respect of the justice system’s failure to produce an adequate and supportable resolution. In the light of the judge’s findings, the younger sister had for a lengthy period been subjected to an intrusive regime to protect her from her father. The Court overturned the findings of sexual abuse against the father and directed that they should be entirely disregarded in any future proceedings.

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