Father is cleared of FGM as third prosecution fails

A LAWYER was cleared of using female genital mutilation to punish his daughter, as prosecutors failed for a third time to secure a conviction for such a crime.

The father of four was alleged to have recruited an amateur surgeon to cut the girl using a razor blade, after accusing her of stealing £20.

But his trial heard his daughter had ‘rewritten’ her relationship with her father under the influence of her mother after the parents’ marriage broke down.

The 50-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was in the dock at the Old Bailey over claims he beat his children and twice organised for the girl to undergo FGM.

But the solicitor from West Africa said he was not capable of the crime as he is a Roman Catholic. He blamed his estranged wife for ‘coaching’ their offspring to lie about him.

Yesterday a jury cleared him of two counts of FGM, two of wounding with intent and three child cruelty offences.

It comes barely a month after a similar case collapsed at Bristol Crown Court.

The only other case, against an NHS doctor, also ended in acquit- tal in 2015, resulting in claims of a costly ‘show trial’ after it was personally announced by Alison Saunders, director of public prosecutions. Miss Saunders has previously declared FGM a priority, saying: ‘We are very keen to make sure that wherever possible we are looking at FGM cases.’

The practice has been illegal since 1985, yet there has not been a single conviction in the UK.

Yesterday’s acquittal is bound to raise questions again for the Crown Prosecution Service and police.

The court heard the 50-year-old lawyer ‘egged on’ an amateur surgeon to punish his daughter as she cried in pain and begged for it to stop during a ten- minute ordeal.

She told police she was attacked in the hall of their home, naked from the waist down. But the child could not recall the identity of the person who allegedly cut her twice between 2009 and 2013.

The accusation came to light after the girl told a friend, whose mother contacted Childline.

Kate Bex QC, defending, said following the breakdown of their parents’ marriage, the children had been ‘susceptible to their mother’s influence at the expense of their relationship with their father and have, whether consciously or not, rewritten their history’.

The father denied arranging FGM, which has a maximum sentence of 14 years.

He added: ‘It has never been a topic. The first time I heard it was from a police officer. I am a Catholic, I don’t believe in it … I have never used any implement on any of my children.’

Miss Bex said he had no previous convictions. She suggested FGM was ‘predominantly’ perpetrated by women and for reasons other than punishment.

The Government has pledged £35million to eradicate FGM and in 2015 it was made a requirement for medical staff, teachers and social workers to report cases.

But some health professionals say claims of an ‘epidemic’ have been ‘grossly exaggerated’.

In 2011 Professor Alison Macfarlane of City, University of London, estimated there were 137,000 women and girls with FGM permanently resident in England and Wales. But NHS figures show that

‘Grossly exaggerated’

of the 5,391 ‘newly recorded’ cases in 2016, only 112 involved victims born in the UK. Only 57 cases involved FGM carried out in the UK and around 50 of those were genital piercings.The remaining seven did not involve cutting.

Leethen Bartholomew, of the National FGM Centre, said: ‘While we respect the decision of the jury, it is important to remember someone did carry out FGM on the victim … it is vital that support is in place for her.’

A CPS spokesman said: ‘A decision to charge was made following detailed consideration of the evidence and in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.’