In Today's Papers

By Clare Jerrom, Simeon Brody, Mithran Samuel, Derren Hayes and Amy Taylor

No jail, no fine for the groping teacher

A teacher who fondled a school girl’s bottom walked free from court yesterday.

Philip Irving was given a 12 month conditional discharge at Bradford crown court after admitting indecent assault.

Source:- Daily Mirror  Wednesday 10 August page 11

‘Lunacy’ of 24-hour drinking

Allowing pubs and clubs to stay open for longer hours will trigger an explosion in violence, police and judges are warning.

They fear there will be a huge increase in ‘rape, grievous bodily harm and worse’ when the law is relaxed later this year.

Source:- Daily Mail  Wednesday 10 August page 1

‘Slow’ parents are forced to have their children adopted

A High Court judge has ruled that a couple regarded as too intellectually slow to be parents must give up their two children for adoption.

Mrs Justice Pauffley said the couple could not keep their four-year-old daughter and 14 month old son even though they have never harmed the children.

She agreed with social workers that the children would be at risk if they continued to live at home.

Source:- Daily Mail  Wednesday 10 August page 22

Couple in fear as police reveal identity to yobs

A couple are living in fear after they reported a neighbourhood crime and police let slip their names to a local gang.

Police have warned Karen Phillips and Nigel Vertigan that teenagers who have been ‘terrorising’ the neighbourhood knew the couple had given information leading to the arrest of three of the gang members.

Source:- Daily Mail  Wednesday 10 August page 25

Prescott ‘plans new council tax bands’

The Conservatives have claimed the government is considering increasing the number of council tax bands by two to shift a greater burden on to wealthier households.

They said a questionnaire sent to councils asking them about the feasibility of increasing the number of bands exposed the government’s intent.

Source:- The Daily Telegraph Wednesday 10 August 2005 page 2

Abuse claims

Cambridgeshire Council faces legal action over claims it failed to stop sexual and physical abuse by staff at a Peterborough school.

Twenty-two people who claim they were abused at Ellindon School are bringing a case against the authority.

Source:- The Times Wednesday August 10 2005 page 4

Absent mother

A woman who left her three children with a teenage babysitter to go on holiday to Turkey is facing jail after admitting wilful neglect.

Kelly Ann Rogerson will be sentenced next month by Darlington magistrates.

Source:- The Times Wednesday August 10 2005 page 4

Man is guilty of murdering boy, 2

A man who shot a boy aged two with an airgun has been convicted of murder.

Andrew Morton died after he was hit in the head by a pellet fired by Mark Bonini, 27, in Glasgow. The court heard he was firing at passers-by and firemen and did not mean to hit the boy.

Source:- The Independent Wednesday 10 August 2005 page 8

Holiday mother admits neglect

Kelly Ann Rogerson, who left her three children with a schoolgirl babysitter while on holiday was facing jail yesterday after admitting to Darlington magistrates that she wilfully neglected them.

Source:- The Guardian Wednesday 10 August 2005 page 10

Rough justice

A 43-year-old homeless man spent three weeks in prison for breaching an Asbo which forbade him from entering or attempting to enter any privately-owned land or building in West Yorkshire or being present when a drug is distributed.

He had sat in a derelict building with a friend who injected heroin.

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 10 August 2005 page 2

Instant gratification

Almost £8 million has been donated to a charity set up to benefit victims of the July 7 bombings but a rise in the number of people wanting to volunteer for the Red Cross in unlikely to translate to a full-time commitment.

Source:- Guardian Society Wednesday 10 August 2005 page 4

Scottish news

No charges after care home inquiry

A police investigation into allegations of abuse, pornography and illegal drugs at a sheltered housing complex for disabled adults has concluded with no charges being brought.

The inquiry was prompted by claims from the mother of a resident at Balnagask Court care home in Aberdeen, who said a carer was found lying asleep in her 21-year-old son's room after taking drugs.

Grampian Police, Aberdeen Council and Capability Scotland, jointly launched the inquiry in April and a male member of staff was suspended from his position.

Source:- The Herald Wednesday 10 August

School library child porn viewer jailed

A father who used a school library computer to download more than 1,000 images of child pornography has been jailed for two years.

Richard Wartnaby's offences were only exposed when a pupil glanced over his shoulder and raised concerns with staff at what he had seen.

Selkirk Sheriff Court heard some of the images were at the most serious end of the scale - showing bestiality, sadomasochism and adults having sex with children.

Source:- The Scotsman Wednesday 10 August

Welsh news

Baby disfigured after mother’s torture included picking wounds ‘to the bone’

A judge raised the possibility of a woman whose actions caused her baby to become disfigured and deformed of having Munchausen’s Syndrome by Proxy yesterday.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that the baby suffered skin infections but these had been made much worse by her mother picking them “to the bone”.

The woman’s defence barrister said that she had been suffering from depression.

Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 10 August

Gran, 63, charged with concealing more births

A woman has been charged with two more counts of concealing the birth of a child this week. The charges relate to the second discovery of a babies' remains at her home in Merthyr Tydfil last May.

She had already been charged with endeavouring to conceal the birth of a child following the discovery of a first set of remains at her former home last March.

Source:- Western Mail Wednesday 10 August