Couple adopted vulnerable children to abuse

• Steve Knibbs & Maisie Lillywhite
• Role,BBC West, Gloucestershire

22 March 2024

Abuse poisoned generations of a family after children's allegations and sexualised behaviour were not acted upon, a report has revealed.

The abuse began with Couple A in Gloucestershire, who specifically asked to adopt an "emotionally disturbed" child - so they could assault them.

The couple, eventually jailed in 2018, went on to adopt four siblings, beginning a cycle of sexual abuse that lasted for years.

The report said agencies "fell short".

Couple A, who cannot be named for legal reasons, adopted the four young siblings, who had been abused by their birth parents, in the 1990s.

Police describe Couple A as "wealthy" and "people you wouldn't suspect", with the woman "a pillar of the community and a church-goer with a very successful job".

An adoption form written by a social worker in the area they had been living at the time outside of Gloucestershire shows they asked for a child who was "emotionally disturbed".

Gloucestershire Constabulary's Det Sgt Grace Craddock, who led the police investigation, said they "sought out children that were traumatised".

"I believe it was so they could have access to children who wouldn't be believed if they were to talk out," she said.

Couple A were jailed for a total of 23 years between them for abusing two of their adopted children.

But one of the other siblings, along with her husband, later abused two of their own children. In 2023, Couple B were jailed for a total of 17 years.

Det Sgt Craddock said the dominating factor over the entire family was the mother of Couple A, who she described as "one of the most manipulative people I have ever met".

The mother sat in on meetings with social services and schools, making sure nothing was said that could implicate them.

"It's clear from the material that we've reviewed in the last seven years that she pulled the wool over the eyes of every professional that became involved," Det Sgt Craddock said.

"There were certain points, over the years, social care would get involved, they'd look over allegations but she was always considered the safe factor and that allowed her access to the children."

Police said the victims of the family were undergoing therapy and "living with trauma every day".

"It's taken years for them to feel ready to talk about what's happened," Det Sgt Craddock said.

"Going through a court case for any child is extremely difficult.

"They've got closure thankfully but those offences have happened to them and they have to process that going into adulthood. We don't just finish the investigation and close that door, the support is ongoing."

'More and more evidence'

In 2010, Gloucestershire Constabulary did not prosecute Couple A after one of the children said she had been abused.

The CPS was not consulted and no legal advice was taken, despite evidence the father had been downloading indecent images of children, for which he was later cautioned.

When Couple B's children started going to primary school, teachers noticed a pattern of worrying behaviour.

"Pete", a member of staff, told the BBC that the school began to notice "more and more evidence of quite significant sexualised behaviour" as each sibling joined.

Despite referrals to children's services, and concerns also shown from staff in probation, social services and at a children's centre, Pete and his colleagues felt they were pushed back by the local authority.

"It was very much 'this will not get past legal' and I found that frustrating because I said 'I'm not here to try and get a legal outcome I'm here to try and get these children protected'," Pete said.

"And it would be 'well, they haven't said anything' and I would go on saying 'they don't have to have said anything' - their behaviour was screaming at us and that wasn't being taken account of.

"That was quite disturbing because these children would have been coached, threatened, you know, and scripted 'if you're asked this, this is what you say'."

'Apologise unreservedly'

A report by Gloucestershire Safeguarding Partnership was published on Friday into the background of the failings that led to the creation of Operation Acorne, an investigation involving a number of local agencies in July 2017.

Eleven children connected to four families were taken into police protection and local authority care. Two other families had convictions for neglect, but the victims of Couples A and B finally saw their abusers brought to justice and jailed.

The failings in the system were against a backdrop of a deterioration in children's services in Gloucestershire revealed in 2017.

In June of that year, the same month that Operation Acorne was set up, Ofsted announced it had found "serious and widespread failures" in children's services in Gloucestershire.

It said that "too many children were being left in situations at risk of significant harm for too long" because dangers were not recognised.

The county council's director of children's services, Ann James, apologised "unreservedly" for the authority's "not joined up or adequate" initial response.

"Whilst these circumstances are thankfully very rare, our focus during the years since this abuse was uncovered has been to, along with our partners, act in response to mistakes that were made and to strengthen how we work together to effectively safeguard children in the county," she said.

"Although these events occurred up to 15 years ago, the findings and the recommendations serve as a reminder to us all that we must all remain vigilant and unwavering in our protection of children."

Earlier this week the council apologised over the failures which led to a child being abused by her carer.

The report highlighted that in 2016 police did not look into the allegations of sexualised behaviour because the children involved were under the age of criminal responsibility.

It said: "This deflected the professional child protection network from a more fundamental question: 'Where had the children involved learnt this behaviour?'."

Addressing the missed opportunity to prosecute Couple A, Assistant Chief Constable Arman Mathieson said Gloucestershire police was "sorry for the consequences of not taking action at an earlier stage".

"In relation to the police failing identified in the report, specifically that we did not refer the allegations made by a victim in 2009 to the Crown Prosecution Service, this was not the right decision and I have apologised to those involved," he said.

"While this decision was made in good faith by the investigating officer, based on a perception the evidential threshold had not been met, this is not what we do now.

"When the case was referred again in 2017, it was taken forward with the utmost professionalism via a multi-agency investigation spanning over six years, resulting in extensive safeguarding and significant convictions that totalled over 40 years.

"The report's findings have been embedded within our organisations and we continue to work closely together, every day, to safeguard children and bring offenders to justice."

Det Sgt Craddock added: "We're unable to name the parents involved for legal reasons and to protect the victims but this offending is very distinct and if anyone's got concerns that it's familiar or they think that they might have been involved in anything of this nature then have the confidence to come forward and speak to police."