May 2002
A BATTERED Wakefield boy who was the victim of the worst child abuse doctors had witnessed for 25 years has been rescued by a loving couple who have now adopted him
As the youngster enjoys a new lease of life, the couple have spoken about the cruel pair who left him close to death and how he is now coping.
We can also reveal that David and Ellen Parker, who were jailed on Tuesday at Leeds Crown Court to three years’ each for child cruelty, intend to launch an appeal against both their conviction and sentence.
The five-year-old boy is now thriving after starting a new life.
His proud new mum, in an exclusive interview with the newspaper that broke the story in March, said: “I’m pleased that they have been sentenced.
“I hate them for what they did to a little boy. He’s such a loving, gentle little boy. He didn’t deserve it. No child does.
“I want people to know he is fine. We have adopted him and he is a happy little boy now.”
The Parkers, of Hastings Grove, Portobello, who tried to adopt their victim, were jailed for neglecting the boy whose spine was fractured and tiny body was peppered with bruises.
They were not charged with assault and were convicted of child cruelty.
Their victim’s new mum, who knew the boy before he went to stay with the Parkers, was horrified when she saw him in hospital.
She said: “I was very shocked, hurt and angry. I’d say it was one big bruise from head to toe. I saw the photos he was completely covered even to the soles of his feet. I was very angry.”
But the toddler threw his arms around her neck.
“After that I didn’t want to let him go,” she added.
She said the youngster had gone through a terrible ordeal and suffered horrific nightmares.
“I just used to put my arm around him.
“He used to say ‘not hurt me again’ in his sleep. He never mentioned them when he woke up. I just gave him lots of cuddles and treats. I really spoilt him and I still do.”
The nightmares have stopped now and the boy giggles in his sleep.
Doctors are pleased with his progress and he has been restored to being a bubbly boy who enjoys playing football with his mates.
His mum said: “He isn’t talking about it now. I don’t think he thinks about what happened, nobody knows for certain, but I hope he doesn’t.
“We couldn’t wait to get the trial over with so we could start afresh and get on with our lives and bring him up.
“We have legally adopted him and really, really love him.”
Child protection committees in Wakefield and Leeds have pledged to carry out a serious case review into the Parker cruelty saga.
Kitty Ferris, head of children’s services who chairs of Wakefield Area Child Protection, said: “We will ensure that lessons from this complex and distressing case are learned.
“A number of issues in respect of the assessment of prospective adopters and the placement of children have been identified and we are amending our procedures in the light of these.”
The Parkers’ solicitors, The Wakefield Chambers, confirmed yesterday the couple have lodged a notice of appeal against their conviction and sentence.
Cruel foster couple begin prison sentences
A CRUEL couple who left a toddler at death’s door have begun three-year jail sentences after the worst case of child abuse doctors had seen in 25 years.
The Wakefield Express broke the news six weeks ago of how the three-year-old boy had his spine fractured, was left with a blood clot on his brain and was bruised from head to toe after being in the care of David and Ellen Parker.
The couple from Hastings Grove, Portobello, planned to adopt the boy but alarm bells started ringing when the youngster was rushed to hospital in January 2001, Leeds Crown Court heard.
This week Judge Peter Charlesworth passed sentence on them and said: “He came to you in October 2000 as a perfectly fit and healthy and lovely little boy but by the end of January he was reduced to being literally at death’s door.
“He was bruised from the top of his head to the soles of his feet. Over 33 bruises to the face, to the ears, inside his mouth, his arms, his body, his legs, his feet.
“He had been seriously assaulted. He had fractures on his hands, fractures on his feet where had almost certainly been stamped on, a brain injury consistent only with severe shaking and he had this terrible fracture to the spine where he had been banged down on a hard surface.
“He had suffered weight loss and dehydration and he had this dreadful state of frozen watchfulness waiting for the next injury to be inflicted upon him.”
The judge added: “This was the worst case of child abuse some doctors had seen for 25 years and had he not been taken to the hospital at the very last minute he would have died and you both say he did it to himself, that neither of you knew anything, did anything or saw anything.”
David Parker, 33, and his wife Ellen, 26, claimed the youngster had bumped into things but were found guilty in March of two charges of child cruelty. They neglected him and failed to get medical aid.
The court was told the boy remained in hospital for weeks but now was with a caring and loving family.
Paul Fleming, mitigating for Mrs Parker, urged the judge not to jail her because the couple also had a natural son who was born with severe brain damage and had a short life expectancy.
Dr Mohammed Dar told the court she was wonderful mother who had a sixth sense about her son’s problems. He predicted the boy’s life expectancy of five to ten years would be significantly reduced if someone else cared for him.
David Taylor, mitigating for Mr Parker, said his client was a quiet, unassuming and loving person who had once served in the Royal Signals. Parker was unable to explain how the boy they tried to adopt was injured. Both were of previous good character.
But Judge Charlesworth said their priorities seemed to have been with their natural son and as a result they neglected the other boy and were cruel to him.
He told Ellen Parker, who sobbed in the dock, and her husband: “It’s the boy that this case is about and the injury that you inflicted on him. It was not possible to say who did it and did what because you both say you know nothing and of course anyone who knows you cannot understand how you could have done such a thing, cannot understand how this boy became reduced to such an awful state.”
The judge said they were decent people underneath but it defied understanding why they had ignored the boy’s suffering.
He added: “I reduce the sentence because you are not going to be in a position to harm a child in the future. No child can be allowed to stay in your care unless possibly your son in the fullness of time.”
April 2002
Foster couple jailed for abuse
A foster couple have been jailed for a total of six years after abusing a three-year-old boy in their care.
David Parker, 33, and his 28-year-old wife Ellen, of Hastings Grove, Portobello, Wakefield, were sentenced to three years each at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday.
Judge Peter Charlesworth said it was “the worst case of child abuse that doctors had seen for 25 years”.
The couple were each convicted at a trial in March of two counts of child cruelty
March 2002
Cruel foster carers found guilty
A SOCIAL services probe has been launched following the conviction yesterday afternoon of a Wakefield foster couple after a child in their care suffered multiple injuries.
David and Ellen Parker, of Hastings Grove, Portobello, were found guilty of child cruelty after a jury heard how the boy was battered from head to toe.
The four-year-old youngster suffered a blood clot to his head, fractures to his spine, hand and foot, and was bruised all over his body, Leeds Crown Court was told.
Child protection officers have now launched an investigation after a jury of eight men and four women delievered their verdict. On the first count of cruelty to a child, David Alan Parker and Ellen Parker, were both found guilty by a unanimous verdict.
On the second count of cruelty to a child she again was unanimously found guilty and his was a majority guilty verdict of 10-2. Sentencing was adjourned for reports.
A police spokesman said after the verdict: “This is an appalling case of child cruelty, When we were first alerted to the boy’s suffering he had more than 30 bruises all over his body. Fortunately he has now found a happy home and is thriving.”
Judge Peter Charlesworth told them: “You both face a significant sentence of imprisonment for dreadful and persistent cruelty and neglect.” They were remanded in custody.
The prosecution said his injuries could have been caused by stamping and by him being smashed down on to a solid object.
The child protection committees for the Leeds and Wakefield areas are to carry out a Serious Case Review following the case.
Kitty Ferris, of the Wakefield Area Child Protection Committee, said: “We very much regret what happened and we have taken steps to learn the lessons from this particular case. Each agency involved with the family has carried out a full management review.”
Prosecutor Patrick Palmer said if the jury had been in the Parkers’ position they would have summoned help long before.
The Parkers claim they were unaware of the full extent of his injuries and said some of them may have been self-inflicted because the boy was clumsy and unsteady on his feet.
David Parker told the court how the boy kept bumping into things and falling down but he never cried or complained.
Ellen Parker, who broke down in tears giving evidence, said one of the injuries was caused when the boy walked into a lamppost.
