UK - MP Calls for Enquiry into Victimized Family

Friday, October 07, 2005
British MP Calls for Enquiry into Victimized Family
http://mensnewsdaily.com/blog/2005/1...quiry-into.htm
Lymington Times

By Steve Deeks

AN MP IS CALLING for a public enquiry into a "cover up" by authorities over
a Christchurch father involved in a bitter custody battle who has been
denied full time access to his son, after the report published in last
week's "A&T".

And the decision by MP Chris Chope to pass on sensitive information - as
well as a copy of the article - to the Chairman of the Select Committee for
Constitutional Affairs and the Secretary of State (for Constitutional
Affairs) at the House of Commons, has, says the father, vindicated his
belief of a "serious miscarriage of justice". On receiving the disclosed
documents of social services and the widespread "collusion, incompetence and
bias" exerted internally and onto related bodies, an investigation could be
imminent. The leader of Dorset County Council has also been informed of
developments and the desire for a public enquiry.

On Tuesday the father, David (under a false name), was facing up to the
possibility of a back lash from the mother's solicitors and district judge
when he was called into an emergency meeting at short notice following
publication of the story. But the mother's requests to prevent him speaking
with the "A&T" as well as to stop contact with his son faltered. However,
directions will now be imposed by a Judge in London later this month after
the district judge, accused of "impartiality" by David, has effectively
"washed his hands" with the case.

David, who has not been informed of the new judge's status, is concerned
about the London judge's relationship with the district judge - which may,
he says, detrimentally affect this hearing. He is also angry at the timing
when his appeal over custody is imminent. "It is a deliberate attempt to
take up my time and divert attention away from preparing for the appeal. And
if I go to prison for one of the new frivolous charges my ex-wife has put
against me then there will be no appeal of course, which would be convenient
for them." When he appears before the judge he will stand accused of
breaking a variety of orders by his former wife, with the most "ridiculous"
being where he put some CD's through her front door for the son while they
were out and must, therefore, have "placed his hands in the cat flap to do
so". This is despite the fact there was no clear order for him going onto
the property he says.

By allowing private documents disclosed to him during the unsuccessful
custody battle last year into the public domain, David knows he has risked
the wrath of the judiciary, but feels it is only right so those involved can
be properly scrutinised. It is for this reason he welcomes the public
enquiry, where the information and findings will be available for public
consumption, which may be the catalyst for reforms in the judiciary. With
the story having attracted interest from parents and fathers' rights groups
nationally and internationally, where individuals have revealed similar
accounts of "injustice and cover ups", David believes a strong lobby for
reform is ever growing. "It's important there is greater awareness of these
issues and the on-goings of authorities who are so powerful and yet can be
so corrupt or negligent. Hopefully change will follow."

Of particular disgust to the Christchurch father was the way in which social
services failed to reveal or act on files from a social worker that stated
the boy wanted to live with his father and had even admitted being abused by
his mother. And after taking directions from a senior member, the child was
placed back into the care of the mother - only for him to sustain new
injuries the week after. The social worker who compiled this report has
since left and was prevented from having contact with David, who believes
she was unhappy with events and may have spoken out if given the
opportunity. An email between two senior members confirmed David's
suspicions of deliberate obstruction when one said to the other: "I remember
you telling me that you weren't prepared for "x" to meet with David."

Recent developments have given David further cause for concern over the
ability for authorities to carry out there duty. After a fight broke out
between the mother and son, a member of the child care agency CAFCASS, who
was aware of the struggle, failed then to report it to the father or social
services - despite the child leaving a personal message for him. On another
occasion a fight took place when the boy, after being chased around the
house, responded by punching his mother.

Since these latest incidents the son was unable to sleep because of a secret
that was "bothering" him. While on a holiday the mother began to have an
epileptic fit where she lost sight and consciousness and had to be pulled to
safety by the boy as she wandered into the road and "would have been run
over but for there being no cars". On the way back to the hotel her fit got
worse and "suddenly she was thrashing around in a really violent grand-mal
fit half way up the stairs". Luckily two English pedestrians were able to
help and the mother was then taken away to hospital where she was put on a
drip.

The child had said he was sworn by the mother not tell anyone about this,
because, David says, it undermines her ability to parent effectively and
shows the severity of her epilepsy - something downplayed by her to the
authorities. David suggested to his son that he may wish to spend more time
with his mother as she is ill but the child explained he did not want to
because he was "afraid she might have another fit and it really scared him
as he thought his mum was dying and didn't want to see it again". The
CAFCASS officer was again contacted but said the matter did not concern
them, so David rang social services who put the phone down on him again. "If
it comes to the attention of the CAFCASS officer he refuses to report it to
social services, while social services refuse to talk to me except to say
'you have been told you are only to talk to the CAFCASS officer' before
putting the phone down on me. I have tried speaking with senior members of
social services but they are all apparently away. I am, therefore,
completely unable to report his injuries and any domestic violence", the
father said.

After the breakdown of the couple's relationship in 1997 a series of
damaging allegations were made by the wife, including rape and domestic
abuse, which were either retracted by her or later shown to be contradicted
in subsequent statements she made. The initial purpose of the "malicious
lies campaign", says David is it served the dual purpose to ensure that she
retained custody of the son and gained housing refuge , but the subsequent
"web of deceit" which she promoted to various people, including members of
David's family, has only confirmed her "manipulative and paranoid" state of
mind. In fact, a friend of hers was so taken in by her "convincing" stories
of rape and abuse that he took the law into his own hands with nearly fatal
consequences. The mother's friend broke into his intended target's house
wearing a balaclava and then savagely unleashed over 20 hammer blows to the
skull of a sleeping man - who was declared lucky to live. The victim, who
had three depressed fractures to his skull and a plate inserted, was not
David, his intended victim, however. The hammer wielding attacker was given
six years in jail.

While in prison he admitted his actions were based on the lies of the wife -
information confirmed in a letter to her from the attacker. Family members
of David have also since realised they were duped and have provided
statements asserting this. One of these from David's mother confirms that
circumstantially the rape could not have taken place.

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