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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/u...ges-prosecution-coroner-inquest-a8164791.html
Poppi Worthington: Why is no one facing charges over death of toddler who was sexually assaulted?
Prosecutors decided not to charge father Paul Worthington after vital evidence lost in 2012 investigation
- Lizzie Dearden Home Affairs Correspondent
- @lizziedearden
- 2 days ago
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Why no one is being prosecuted over Poppi Worthington's death
The father of a toddler who died after suffering a serious sexual assault may never be charged with a crime because of a series of failings by police officers dating back to the day of her tragic death.
Detectives let vital evidence from Poppi Worthington’s family home be lost, decided not to make immediate arrests and did not question witnesses for months after she died in 2012.
A coroner told a second inquest into the 13-month-old’s death that he could not deliver an “unlawful killing” verdict because of a lack of evidence.
Poppi Worthington suffered injuries caused by sexual assault – coroner
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it would carefully consider David Roberts’ findings that Poppi was sexually assaulted shortly before dying from asphyxia in her father’s bed.
“This is not the same as reviewing the case,” a spokesperson cautioned. “What we are doing is considering the coroner’s decision in order to establish whether it might provide the basis for a review, taking account of the fact that the evidence has been considered by prosecutors on three previous occasions.”
The first was in March 2015, when the CPS decided there was insufficient evidence to secure a realistic prospect of conviction on the basis of information passed over by Cumbria Police.
After a family court judge ruled that Poppi had been sexually assaulted the following year, another prosecutor came to the same conclusion and a third review turned down an appeal under the Victims’ Right to Review Scheme in June 2016.
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Poppi Worthington’s father is rushed into court
The new inquest held in Kendal, Cumbria, was told that Poppi was heard screaming at her family home in Barrow-in-Furness on 12 December.
Mr Roberts ruled that, at some point after 2.30am, she was taken from her cot and sexually assaulted, although it was not the cause of her death.
The toddler, who was suffering from an upper respiratory tract infection at the time, later died from asphyxia caused by the illness and an “unsafe sleeping environment” in her father’s double bed.
Timeline of Poppi Worthington case as coroner publishes conclusions
“When the father awoke he discovered that Poppi was no longer breathing and shortly before 5.56am, he took her downstairs in an unresponsive state,” the coroner said. “I find that, in fact, she was dead at that point.”
Paul Worthington has denied any wrongdoing and his lawyers entered submissions saying there was not enough evidence to conclude the toddler was unlawfully killed.
In a statement, they added: “Mr Worthington is considering his options following the coroner’s conclusion and we are advising him not to say anything further at this point.”
Poppi’s mother called for him to be prosecuted after he refused to answer 252 questions at the inquest using a rule to stop witnesses incriminating themselves.
Mr Worthington described his daughter as a “bully” at one hearing and would not explain how her DNA came to be on his penis, refusing to recount the hours leading up to Poppi’s death.
A sketch of Poppi Worthington's father Paul Worthington giving evidence at Kendal County Hall in Cumbria (PA)
Her mother’s lawyer, Fiona McGhie, urged the CPS to “take another look at the case” but a U-turn on its previous decisions looks unlikely unless Cumbria Police provide fresh evidence.
“The past five years have been a complete nightmare for her,” she added. “Not knowing what happened to Poppi on that day, and knowing that there were evidence gathering failures by the police in the very early stages of the investigation has made things even worse.”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) found that police officers in charge of the case had a case to answer for gross misconduct after uncovering a catalogue of failures.
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The case started falling apart within hours of Poppi’s death on the morning of 12 December 2012.
Police should have closed off the entire house to secure any potential evidence, the watchdog found, but instead sealed only one bedroom and allowed the couple’s remaining children and family members access.
Officers supposedly guarding the property let the last nappy worn by Poppi to be thrown away by a relative who found it on the sofa.
The IOPC said it “had the potential to be a crucial piece of evidence in the investigation”, adding: “The nappy was never recovered and its value remains unknown.”
A laptop Mr Worthington used to watch pornography was also never seized by police, after he claimed he had sold it on to a friend.
When officers interviewed Mr Worthington, they “did not have any suspicions despite the fact that the father appeared to be getting things wrong and changing his story and there were inconsistencies between the two accounts provided by the parents”, the report found.
Instead of seeking to investigate Poppi’s death as a potential crime, an officer put his responses down to the fact it was a “traumatic situation” and did not raise the alarm.
Police were hampered by opposing findings by two pathologists who conducted a post-mortem on Poppi.
One was concerned she had sustained injuries from serious sexual abuse, repeating the finding in a phone call to police, but the other claimed they may have been caused by a medical condition.
Senior officers failed to challenge the mixed findings, which did not provide a cause of death and then had a break, telling investigators afterwards: “It was a real shame that there was a weekend involved…for two of those days nothing was done because it was a weekend and we were off.”
The IOPC raised concern over the failure to immediately treat Poppi’s death as a criminal investigation, with Mr Worthington asked to go for tests but the results not sent for analysis for months.
He was not arrested until August 2013 but investigators said the urgent need to protect Poppi’s siblings alone would have been ample reason to detain him immediately after her death.
By that point, “vital evidence” had been lost and the CPS said it could not proceed with charges.
The IOPC said that although there were two legitimate lines of investigation into whether Poppi’s injuries were the result of abuse or a medical condition, there was a disproportionate “focus on establishing a natural cause of death and the investigation was not conducted thoroughly, with opportunities being missed from the start”.
Two officers were found to have cases to answer for gross misconduct, but one retired before the watchdog released its findings and the second left Cumbria Police after being demoted as a penalty for “incompetency”.
The force said it had referred itself to the IOPC for investigation after Poppi’s death and apologised to her family.
A spokesperson told The Independent the decision not to launch a criminal investigation was “made by the officer in charge on the day, based on their interpretation of the facts and knowledge of available powers”.
He added: “An investigation was taking place from the outset but the constabulary accepts that the pace and scope of this investigation in the early stages was not of an acceptable standard…the constabulary are aware that these deficiencies were a factor in the CPS decision not to bring charges.
“The chief constable has, a number of times, unreservedly accepted the criticisms contained within the report and offered a heartfelt apology to Poppi’s family.
“The investigation fell well short of the standard that could, and should, have been expected.
“The constabulary are working closely with the CPS in order to determine possible courses of action following the coroner’s conclusion.”
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5033407/poppi-worthington-dad-paul-inquest-sexual-assault-latest/
BAD DAD
Who is Poppi Worthington’s father Paul and why did a judge say he ‘probably sexually assaulted’ his daughter?
The tragic tot was just 13-months-old when she died after being found with serious injuries at her home
By Guy Birchall
18th January 2018, 11:40 am
Updated: 17th January 2018, 11:45 am
POPPI Worthington was just 13-months-old when she died after being found lifeless with serious injuries at her home.
Her dad Paul came out of hiding after a second inquest opened in November which resulted in a coroner ruling that the baby was sexually assaulted before suffocating on a double bed.
Kelvin Media
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However, Paul Worthington, 48, has not been charged and continues to deny any wrongdoing
Who is Paul Worthington?
Paul Worthington was the father of tragic tot Poppi who died suddenly at her family home in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, in December 2012.
The 49-year-old has been in hiding for about two years since a family court judge said that he probably sexually assaulted his daughter before she collapsed.
Former Asda worker was ruled to have abused his child shortly before her death following an inquest last year.
Mr Justice Peter Jackson announced his findings in January 2016, saying that - on the balance of probabilities - Mr Worthington had sexually assaulted Poppi shortly before her death.
His sister Tracey revealed he left the country after being "hounded" and he continues to deny any wrongdoing.
But he has since returned as a second inquest into the tot's death opened this week.
PA:Press Association
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Tragic Poppi Worthington died at just 13-months old
What happened to Poppi Worthington?
Poppi Worthington collapsed suddenly at the family home in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, in December 2012.
The 13-month-old was taken to Furness General Hospital and died from her injuries.
A full post-mortem report in June 2013 indicated the cause of death as "unascertained".
A couple of months later her parents were arrested and formally interviewed, and her father Paul Worthington was questioned on suspicion of sexually assaulting his daughter, which he denied.
In October 2014 an inquest took just seven minutes to declare her death as unexplained after the coroner stated he was satisfied to rely on the findings of the private fact finding judgment.
Months later in March 2015, Cumbria Police announced no charges would be brought against anyone over Poppi's death after they had previously passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for its consideration.
High Court judges later ordered a fresh inquest into the tot's death after the first hearing was deemed "irregular".
In November 2015, a hearing reviewing the medical evidence from the March 2014 court proceedings began in Liverpool.
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Poppi Worthington had died of serious injuries at her home in Barrow in 2012
Ahead of the hearing, Mr Justice Peter Jackson released parts of his original fact-finding judgment which revealed that Cumbria Police did not conduct any "real" investigation into Poppi's death for nine months despite a senior pathologist raising concerns the girl's injuries were caused by "a penetrative sexual assault".
Why did a judge say he 'probably sexually assaulted' his daughter?
Last year family judge Mr Justice Peter Jackson gave a ruling of fact that on the balance of probabilities Mr Worthington did abuse Poppi shortly before she died.
Mr Justice Jackson said: “Shorn to its essentials, the situation is one in which a healthy child with no medical condition or illness was put to bed by her mother one evening and brought downstairs eight hours later by her father in a lifeless state and with troubling injuries, most obviously significant bleeding.
“Careful assessment of the meticulous pathological and paediatric evidence has clearly established that the injuries were the result of trauma from outside the body.
“My finding (in the previous judgement) was that the father perpetrated a penetrative assault on Poppi. That remains my conclusion.”
News Group Newspapers Ltd
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Paul Worthington is pictured leaving the inquest today
What is happening now in the case?
A second inquest into Poppi's death started Monday, November 27 in the County Hall in Kendal.
A fresh hearing was ordered after the initial inquest held at Barrow Town Hall in October 2014 declared her death was "unascertained" after just seven minutes.
Paul Worthington, 49, has come out of hiding for the first time in two years since a judge ruled he sexually assaulted his daughter shortly before her death.
His lawyers asked for him to give evidence via video link, claiming he had received death threats “on a daily basis”.
But he is among 39 witnesses listed to give evidence.
Paul has been placed under witness protection at the cost of £50,000 to the taxpayer.
On January 15, 2018, a coroner ruled that Poppi was the victim of a sexual assault that left her bleeding from her bottom, having been taken out of her cot in the middle of the night.
The tragic tot, who was previously "fit and active", died of asphyxiation moments after the chilling attack due to an “unsafe sleeping environment”, the court heard.
Poppi's devastated mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons, earlier fled the court in tears as the coroner recounted chilling evidence detailing the sickening injuries her daughter suffered.
But Mr Roberts could not say that abuse caused her death - and did not rule that she was unlawfully killed.
Cumbria's senior coroner David Roberts gave his conclusions on Monday following a three-week inquest before Christmas, with Poppi's father Paul having refused to answer questions about her death 252 times.
The coroner said he had watched Poppi's dad closely, but was unable to conclude "definitively" on his honesty - adding that his account of what happened in the moments before his daughter's death did "not stand up to scrutiny".
The coroner had earlier stated he would reach his conclusions around the "active and social" tot's death that were before him, rather than the missing details.
Prosecutors are considering the findings of the latest inquest - the CPS and Cumbria Police will revisit the case after the judgement.
Two-year rape case against Oxford student dropped just days before trial
He arrived on November 29 at the inquest having asked to give evidence from behind a screen shielding him from the press and public having gone into hiding over allegations he sexually abused the toddler before her death.
In the witness stand at Kendal Coroner's Court today, Mr Worthington refused to answer a number of questions about his relationship with Poppi and the hours before her death.
He repeatedly replied: "I refer to my previous statements and my rights under rule 22."
The inquest was told that some of the tot's DNA was found on his penis in forensics tests after her death.
On November 30, Worthington branded his daughter a "bully" in the witness box as he refused to answer more than 250 questions about how she died.
The 49-year-old robotically repeated "I refer to my previous statements and my rights under Rule 22" a total of 252 times at Kendal Coroner's Court.
On January 15, a coroner will reveal what he thinks happened to Poppi more than five years after her death.
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https://tw.news.yahoo.com/肛門撕裂-內臟重創-女嬰疑遭父性侵慘死-071414557.html
肛門撕裂、內臟重創 女嬰疑遭父性侵慘死
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Kairos
2018年1月18日 下午3:14
英國坎布里亞郡，一名13月大女嬰波比（Poppi），5年前因為窒息去世，驗屍官發現女嬰肛門有撕裂傷，還在49歲父親沃辛頓（Paul Worthington）的生殖器上採集到死者的DNA，確認女嬰死前遭到父親性侵。但女嬰父親都行使緘默權拒絕回答，目前仍沒有被正式起訴，女嬰母親得知驗屍結果後崩潰流淚，希望檢察部門能夠重新調查死因。
根據英國《每日郵報》報導，英國坎布里亞郡（Cumbria）13個月大女嬰波比（Poppi）2012月12月12日波比的房間突然傳來哭叫，在樓上的沃辛頓查看女兒是否需要更換尿布，妻子則是留在樓下房間睡覺，過了一會後，他抱著已經窒息的女兒跑下來，要妻子趕緊呼叫救護車。女嬰於上午6時11分送醫進行急救，最後在上午7時左右死亡。
女嬰猝死後先後在2016年1月及2017年3月兩度開庭進行死因聆訊，法醫驗屍報告指，波比肛門有撕裂傷及內臟重創，懷疑她生前受到性侵。同時警方在調查時也發現女嬰父親沃辛頓陽具上有女兒的基因，而他在事發前一日曾看色情影片，懷疑他受影片影響對女兒伸出魔手。不過，沃辛頓在調查期間否認性侵，又長期保持緘默，拒絕回答252次關於女兒死亡的問題，態度雖然可疑，但檢方還是苦無關鍵證據將他定罪。
除了女嬰父親不肯配合之外，警方當初的蒐證態度散漫，未依法定程序進行，造成至少12處出錯，包括沒有第一時間收集嬰兒的床單、尿布及睡衣等物證送往科學鑑證、未有保護現場，甚至未派資深調查員到案發家庭調查等，在連串失誤下，使得檢方苦無關鍵證據將沃辛頓起訴。
死因庭前日(15日)進行第三次聆訊，法醫人員再度指出，懷疑女嬰生前曾遭沃辛頓施暴，因為「睡眠環境不安全」而窒息死亡，但他無法判定女嬰是被人謀殺還是誤殺。
法醫在聆訊中，再度確認波比有明顯傷痕，死前曾遭性侵，懷疑沃辛頓得手後抱女兒回嬰兒床。法醫相信，波比因「不安全睡眠環境」死於窒息，但未能確認是否謀殺。女嬰母親得知驗屍結果後淚流滿面，不滿丈夫長期以來一直隱瞞真相，要求檢察部門法庭重新調查死因，但當局回應時指目前無計劃重審案件。英國傳媒報道，警方調查失誤，沃辛頓在證據不足下相信可免受刑責。（吳雯淇/綜合外電報導）
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