Torbay didn't meet its obligations in child sex case

'Chilling' report on care of boy who became rapist

A report on a child who committed rape and sexual assault while under Torbay Council’s care has been described as “chilling” and “heartbreaking” by councillors.

The teenager, 16 at the time of the offences, was found guilty in May of raping a three-year-old at a nursery and of 13 counts of sexual assault by touching, carried out in 2019. He was given a 14 and a half year sentence.

A review of the circumstances that led to his offences was carried out by Torbay Safeguarding Children Partnership and published this August.

Members of the council and the review both referred to the child as C80 in order to protect his identity. 

The report describes how C80 felt everyone had “given up” on him. At a full council meeting, Councillor Nick Bye, (Conservative, Wellswood) scrutiny lead for children’s services, described this - and the report's finding that the council did not meet its obligations to the child -  as “chilling.”

Councillor Cordelia Law (Liberal Democrat, Tormohun), cabinet member for children’s services, said the report was “heartbreaking.” She added: “There’s so much we can learn and the very important thing we learn through reading the review is what can go wrong if you are not good corporate parents if we’re not there for children.

“It’s important to state that C80 only came into our local authority care in 2014. It’s also important to remember that he was a child himself when these crimes were committed by him.”

The child is believed to have had a traumatic and chaotic childhood in which they themselves were abused.

The review said C80’s experience of trauma and following mental health and behavioural difficulties are not uncommon for a  child who has been in care. It referred to research by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence which found that rates of behavioural and mental health difficulties are four to five times higher among looked-after children than the general population.

However, the report also stressed that 94 per cent of looked-after children do not go on to commit crimes.

It concluded with 23 recommendations of actions that need to be taken between the council, Ofsted, the Department of Education and the National Police Chiefs’ Council to help avoid a similar case happening again. Cllr Bye said the children's and young person's scrutiny board would hold a special meeting to make sure the recommendations of the report had been put in place.

The full council meeting adopted a new ‘corporate parenting' strategy as part of the council’s constitution. The previous strategy expired at the end of 2020 and the new one will last until 2025.

‘Corporate parenting’ refers to the collective responsibility of the council and its partners for providing care and safeguarding for cared-for children and young people. Adopting the strategy means that every councillor formally recognises their responsibility when it comes to corporate parenting.

A child is cared for by the council if they are provided with accommodation for a continuous period for more than 24 hours or are subject to a care or placement order. When a child or young person becomes cared for, the council becomes their ‘corporate parent.’

Cllr Law said the new corporate parenting strategy was a clear signal of the steps forward for the council. She added: “We will show our commitment through our love, our focus, our language and our actions. 

“It sets out our commitment that our cared-for and care-experienced young people receive the same standard of care as any good parent would provide, protecting them, supporting them to cope with the dangers and risks of everyday life.”

Praising the update, Cllr Bye said: “It is so important that we provide the love and care for our cared-for children as though they were our own.”

In May this year, a Brixham teenager, Jayden McCarthy, 18, was found guilty of one charge of rape and 13 of sexual assault at a nursery in Torbay, and on two counts of raping a boy in a separate incident in 2014. He is serving a sentence of 11 and a half years, with an extended licence period of three years.