'Sorry saga' of false abuse claim

The girl complained first at 13 (picture posed by model)

A council has been asked to pay £89,000 plus legal costs to a man wrongly accused of abusing his daughter.

Wrexham social services were accused of "serious maladministration".

Public services ombudsman Adam Peat called it a "sorry saga". Police took no action over the girl's complaints, but the man had a breakdown after his other children were made "at risk".

The council is considering its response but said steps had already been taken by relevant agencies.

The report said the girl was seriously ill in hospital with a psychiatric disorder when she made her first allegation, in 1997 when she was aged 13, that she had been abused by her father.

It is evident that major lessons for future practice needed to be learnt from this sorry saga Ombudsman Adam Peat

She made similar allegations in 1998, 1999 and 2000, but in each case never gave her consent for social services to investigate. The department took no action and the father was not informed.

In 2001, the girl complained that her father had raped her. The police were involved, but took no action after the girl withdrew her complaint.

But the father's two other children were placed on the child protection register. The man then suffered a severe nervous breakdown and left his job, where he had been working with children.

'Extreme distress'

An independent social worker later said there was no evidence that the children had ever been at risk from their parents.

Mr Peat found that, had the council investigated the initial allegation promptly and effectively in 1997, the allegation would not have been substantiated and the subsequent course of events would have been very different.

He said he found the council's "repeated, prolonged and serious maladministration" was "a major causal factor" in the man's breakdown and loss of livelihood.

He recommended the council pay the man's legal costs, plus £84,000 for loss of income, and pay the man and his wife £5,000 each "in recognition of the extreme distress which the council's maladministration has caused the family".

Mr Peat also said that, in the interests of child safety, the council's social services department should recognise that investigations into possible child abuse may need to be undertaken without the consent of the child concerned.

Mr Peat said: "It is evident that major lessons for future practice needed to be learnt from this sorry saga".

Terry Garner, Wrexham's strategic director for children and young people, said: "It is important to point out that the local authority has a duty to safeguard and protect children who may be at risk of harm whilst at the same time considering the rights and responsibilities of parents.

"It takes these statutory responsibilities very seriously.

"This was a complex case which began nearly 10 years ago and a number of actions had already been carried out to address any lessons learned."