Convicted sex offender who was also found to have raped child’s mother was allowed contact by family court
A mother found to have been raped by her ex-partner was “devastated” after the family court permitted the convicted sex offender to have contact with their child.
“It was like being told that, despite the court’s findings, Cafcass doesn’t believe you,” she said. “A judge has said it happened. But it doesn’t matter that he’s a convicted rapist and he raped you – he can spend time with your child. It was earth-shattering.” Cafcass, which was rated “outstanding” by Ofsted this year, said it was unable to comment because proceedings have not concluded.
After a fact-finding hearing in December 2022 Judge Sophie Harrison made various other serious findings following an application brought by the father to change the arrangements under which he saw his daughter. Harrison said the officer was “mindful of the serious nature of the court’s findings and was concerned that the father expressly did not accept these findings”.
At a final hearing to decide the level of contact on 12 February this year, the Cafcass officer shifted her position to say that contact should not take place in White’s home, or overnight, while there was “an unaddressed risk of domestic abuse”. It was also recommended he complete a domestic abuse perpetrator programme .
Harrison made a final order for unsupervised community contact between White and his daughter and said he should complete a DAPP before applying to increase his contact. That decision, however, was overturned on appeal after a hearing in April before Judge Greenfield.The mother was represented this time by barrister Charlotte Proudman, who told the court Harrison’s order had failed to sufficiently address the risk posed by a convicted rapist to his former partner and their child.
Responding to the mother’s grounds for appeal, White said that by the time of the final hearing, unsupervised community contact with his daughter had been taking place uneventfully for seven months. White’s barrister, Thomas Pye, said the proposal to stop contact would cause “disruption and upset” to the girl and would deprive her of a loving presence in her life.
The mother supported a joint application by the TBIJ and freelance journalist Suzanne Martin to name White in connection with the family proceedings.
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