Criminal Court for Child Neglect

[Bitter Pill]

Hello,

In March this year my partner's 18 month old son was taken into care as there was highly suspicious bruising to his bottom and back. We contested this for several months, building what we believed to be a strong case supporting our explanations of an accidental injury.

In July we attended the finding of facts hearing in which my partner's legal team persuaded her to blame me for the injuries and in doing so abandoned our original case and ultimately our relationship.

I took the position of accepting the injuries were non accidental but that I didn't know who had done it or by what means they had been inflicted. Me and the mother were the only two in the pool of perpetrators. At the end of the 2 day hearing the Judge could not decide on the balance of probabilities who had perpetrated the injuries and I was discharged from the case. I was not a party but an intervenor to the case as I didn't have parental responsibility, he is not my son.

Obviously since then I have been separated from my ex partner as she continues her bid to get her son back. I was devastated by what had happened but ultimately relieved that the horrible experience of the family court as over for me.

Recently, however, I was contacted by the police and told that I was being charged with child neglect jointly with the mother. I have received my summons and am due in court in a weeks time. I didn't qualify for legal aid during the care proceedings and I'm not going to waste my time applying for it again.

My reasons for posting here are to hopefully clarify what will or may happen during and after the hearing. If a Judge who bases his findings on the balance of probabilities (or assumptions as I like to call it) cant place the blame on an individual then how can a judge convict (not sure if that's the right term) someone when the burden of proof is beyond reasonable doubt? What kind of charges can they make? What kind of sentence could I be looking at?

Thank you to those of you who take time to reply to me. Please note that I will not appreciate the "oh, I think he did it!" type of replies or anything along those lines.

Thank you

[Suzie, FRG Adviser]

Dear Phil84

My name is Suzie and I am an adviser at Family Rights Group.

Thank you for your post. I am very sorry to read about the terrible and distressing situation that you are in.

Unfortunately, I am not able to offer much advice in your situation as our remit is to advise in relation to Children’s Services only- I have no expertise in criminal law.

I am clear that the criminal and family law courts have a very different burden of proof, with the criminal courts generally having a higher threshold. In your case, however, it would appear that you are not being charged with directly causing the injury to your ex’s son (which would be assault) but with neglect. This may be in relation to not providing an acceptable level of care to prevent the injury from happening.

I would strongly advise that you approach a criminal solicitor for initial advice and to explore whether you may be able to access legal aid for more assistance. The rules around legal aid do differ between family and criminal law.


I hope this is of some help.

Best Wishes

Suzie
FRG Adviser

[Bitter Pill]

Thank you Suzie, I will contact a solicitor.