A mother has told of the trauma her young daughter experienced after waiting 18 months for her father to be convicted of child sexual abuse – as a report finds it is taking years for cases to be concluded.
Erin, not her real name, discovered her ex-husband had been sexually abusing her then seven-year-old daughter Ivy, a pseudonym, for at least four years in the spring of 2021.
He was eventually imprisoned for 17 years in September 2022 – but the year-and-a-half it took to get there left the family in limbo, looking over their shoulders as he was free to live his life.
Erin is speaking out for the first time, exclusively to Sky News, as a new report collating all the latest available child sexual abuse data is released.
The Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse (CSA Centre) found in 2021/2022:
• It took an average of 614 days from a report of child sexual abuse to a court conclusion • A 15% increase in recorded cases in England and Wales • For the first time, police recorded more than 100,000 offences (103,055) • Sexual assault referral centres, which offer medical and forensic help to victims, had initial contact with 8,213 children last year – a rise of 13% more than the previous year.
Survey data also suggests at least one in 10 children in England and Wales are sexually abused before the age of 16, so the majority of cases go unreported.
One reason could be the long delays in the justice system.
The things he’d asked her to do
Erin told Sky News: “When she told me, it just all tumbled out, everything, the things that he, they, had been doing together, sleeping with no pyjamas on, in the same bed, things he’d asked her to do, things he’d done to her, inappropriate touching and it all just came out in one big rush.”
The horrified mother immediately told the police and her ex-husband, Ivy’s father, was arrested – with officers then finding indecent child images of other children on his computer dating back 14 years, before the former couple had met.
Her daughter had to have a forensic medical exam at a rape centre that was done by a male doctor.
Erin said: “That was the hardest part of all of it, she looked so tiny, she had to take all of her clothes off and wrap herself under this adult-sized gown.
“The doctor, I’m sure he was lovely but he was very tall and had a very strong accent, she was frightened. She had to lay there and be examined in her privates, that was the worst part of it.”
Ivy’s father, who Erin said appeared to be a good dad and had a high-powered job, was released on bail after three months and then he had a restraining order so he could not come near the house or her school.
But, although Erin knew he had a new car, the police would not tell her what it was or where he was living. For a year-and-a-half – until he was prosecuted – she was constantly looking over her shoulder trying to protect Ivy.
They let someone dangerous to children roam around free
Detectives went quiet after the initial interviews and Erin said they did not return her calls when she had questions, which made her feel “like time was standing still”. She even made sure Ivy’s passport was not in the house in case he turned up.
He was free to live and work before he was charged – then at one point, he failed to turn up for a police interview and went on the run.
“To my mind, they let someone out there, dangerous to children, roam around with his freedom unchallenged for 18 months,” she said.
“They kept saying: ‘Well you should be grateful, that’s really quick, you should be grateful.'”
Eventually, Ivy’s father pleaded guilty and was jailed for 17 years.
Erin said she believes he pleaded guilty so his crimes were not revealed in court in front of his family. A trial would have prolonged the case even further.
Image: Ian Dean, director of the Centre of Expertise for Child Sexual Abuse
‘Court delays are completely unacceptable’
Ian Dean, director of the CSA Centre, told Sky News: “It’s completely unacceptable that some children are waiting as long as two years to hear their case concluded in court.
“For any victim of sexual abuse that wait would be significant, for a child it’s enormous.
“I’m really concerned that delays of this magnitude will be putting people off.”
The CSA Centre is pushing for the government to carry out a regular prevalence survey to establish just how many children are being sexually abused as they believe the data available is just the tip of the iceberg.
It is also calling for more training for social workers as many do not have formal training to recognise when child sexual abuse may be taking place.
Ian Critchley, child protection lead for the National Police Chiefs Council, told Sky News the full impact of COVID lockdowns on child abuse is also a major concern and it “may take years to fully understand”.
He said police are investing in training and resources for those working in the field and are also trying to enhance their data collection so trends can be more easily understood.
He added: “The fight against child sexual abuse will never stop and these most recent figures reinforce that all of us in society must focus our efforts on these awful crimes, which can cause lifelong harm to children.”
Safeguarding minister Sarah Dines told Sky News: “Child sexual abuse is a horrific, devastating crime which targets the most vulnerable in our society and this government is determined to tackle it.
“I welcome this report produced by the Home Office-funded Centre of Expertise on Child Sexual Abuse, which recognises improvements in identification and reporting.
“However, the prevalence of these heinous crimes is deeply concerning, and we will leave no stone unturned in pursuing offenders and keeping children safe.
“We are putting the needs of victims at the heart of this work, including investing £477m over three years to reduce court wait times for victims.”
Anyone with any concerns about the welfare of a child can call the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000 or email help@nspcc.org.uk.
Children can contact Childline on 0800 1111 or visit childline.org.uk.
Labour’s welfare reforms bill has passed, with 335 MPs voting in favour and 260 against.
It came after the government watered down the bill earlier this evening, making a dramatic last-minute concession to the demands of would-be rebel MPs who were concerned about the damage the policy would do to disabled people.
The government has a working majority of 166, so it would have taken 84 rebels to defeat the bill.
In total, 49 Labour MPs still voted against the bill despite the concessions. No MPs from other parties voted alongside the government, although three MPs elected for Labour who have since had the whip removed did so.
Which Labour MPs rebelled?
Last week, 127 Labour MPs signed what they called a “reasoned amendment”, a letter stating their objection to the bill as it was.
The government responded with some concessions to try and win back the rebels, which was enough to convince some of them. But they were still ultimately forced to make more changes today.
In total, 68 MPs who signed the initial “reasoned amendment” eventually voted in favour of the bill.
Nine in 10 MPs elected for the first time at the 2024 general election voted with the government.
That compares with fewer than three quarters of MPs who were voted in before that.
A total of 42 Labour MPs also voted in favour of an amendment that would have stopped the bill from even going to a vote at all. That was voted down by 328 votes to 149.
How does the rebellion compare historically?
If the wording of the bill had remained unchanged and 127 MPs or more had voted against it on Tuesday, it would have been up there as one of the biggest rebellions in British parliamentary history.
As it happened, it was still higher than the largest recorded during Tony Blair’s first year as PM, when 47 of his Labour colleagues (including Diane Abbott, John McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn, who also voted against the bill on Tuesday) voted no to his plan to cut benefits for single-parent families.
The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.
A 92-year-old man has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 20 years in prison for the rape and murder of an elderly widow nearly 60 years ago.
Ryland Headley was found guilty on Monday of killing 75-year-old Louisa Dunne at her Bristol home in June 1967, in what is thought to be the UK’s longest cold case to reach trial, and has been told by the judge he “will die in prison”.
The mother-of-two’s body was found by neighbours after Headley, then a 34-year-old railway worker, forced his way inside the terraced house in the Easton area before attacking her.
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The UK’s longest cold case to reach trial
Police found traces of semen and a palm print on one of the rear windows inside the house – but it was about 20 years before DNA testing.
The case remained unsolved for more than 50 years until Avon and Somerset detectives sent off items from the original investigation and found a DNA match to Headley.
He had moved to Suffolk after the murder and served a prison sentence for raping two elderly women in 1977.
Prosecutors said the convictions showed he had a “tendency” to break into people’s homes at night and, in some cases, “target an elderly woman living alone, to have sex with her despite her attempts to fend him off, and to threaten violence”.
Image: Louisa Dunne in 1933. Pic: Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Image: Headley during his arrest. Pic: Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Headley, from Ipswich, who did not give evidence, denied raping and murdering Ms Dunne, but was found guilty of both charges after a trial at Bristol Crown Court.
Detectives said forces across the country are investigating whether Headley could be linked to other unsolved crimes.
Mrs Dunne’s granddaughter, Mary Dainton, who was 20 when her relative was killed, told the court that her murder “had a big impact on my mother, my aunt and her family.
“I don’t think my mother ever recovered from it. The anxiety caused by her mother’s brutal rape and murder clouded the rest of her life.
“The fact the offender wasn’t caught caused my mother to become and remain very ill.
“When people found out about the murder, they withdrew from us. In my experience, there is a stigma attached to rape and murder.”
Image: The front of Louisa Dunne’s home. Pic: Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Image: Louisa Dunne’s skirt. Pic: Avon and Somerset Constabulary
Finding out her grandmother’s killer had been caught after almost six decades “turned my life upside down,” she said.
“I feel sad and very tired, which has affected the relationships I have with those close to me. I didn’t expect to deal with something of such emotional significance at this stage of my life.
“It saddens me deeply that all the people who knew and loved Louisa are not here to see that justice has been done.”
Image: Palmprint images. Pic: Avon and Somerset Constabulary
After her statement, Mr Justice Sweeting told Mrs Dainton: “It is not easy to talk about matters like this in public.
“Thank you very much for doing it in such a clear and dignified way.”
The judge told Headley his crimes showed “a complete disregard for human life and dignity.
“Mrs Dunne was vulnerable, she was a small elderly woman living alone. You treated her as a means to an end.
“The violation of her home, her body and ultimately her life was a pitiless and cruel act by a depraved man.
“She must have experienced considerable pain and fear before her death,” he said.
Sentencing Headley to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 20 years, the judge told him: “You will never be released, you will die in prison.”
Detective Inspector Dave Marchant of Avon and Somerset Police said Headley was “finally facing justice for the horrific crimes he committed against Louisa in 1967.
“The impact of this crime has cast a long shadow over the city and in particular Louisa’s family, who have had to deal with the sadness and trauma ever since.”
The officer praised Ms Dainton’s “resilience and courage” during what he called a “unique” case and thanked investigators from his own force, as well as South West Forensics, detectives from Suffolk Constabulary, the National Crime Agency and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
Three managers at the hospital where Lucy Letby worked have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.
They were in senior roles at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016 and have been bailed pending further enquiries, Cheshire Constabulary said. Their names have not been made public.
Letby, 35, was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder seven more between June 2015 and June 2016 while working in the hospital’s neonatal unit.
Detective Superintendent Paul Hughes explained that gross negligent manslaughter focuses on the “action or inaction of individuals”.
There is also an investigation into corporate manslaughter at the hospital, which began in October 2023.
That focuses on “senior leadership and their decision-making”, Mr Hughes said. The intention there is to determine whether any “criminality has taken place concerning the response to the increased levels of fatalities”.
The scope was widened to include gross negligence manslaughter in March of this year.
Image: Lucy Letby was found guilty of murdering seven children and attempting to murder seven more
Mr Hughes said it is “important to note” that this latest development “does not impact on the convictions of Lucy Letby for multiple offences of murder and attempted murder”.
He added: “Both the corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter elements of the investigation are continuing and there are no set timescales for these.
“Our investigation into the deaths and non-fatal collapses of babies at the neo-natal units of both the Countess of Chester Hospital and the Liverpool Women’s Hospital between the period of 2012 to 2016 is also ongoing.”
Earlier this year, lawyers for Lucy Letby called for the suspension of the inquiry, claiming there was “overwhelming and compelling evidence” that her convictions were unsafe.
Their evidence has been passed to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which investigates potential miscarriages of justice, and Letby’s legal team hopes her case will be referred back to the Court of Appeal.