I suspected Poppi’s father had abused her, says prosecutor

THE chief prosecutor in the case of Poppi Worthington, the 13-month-old toddler who died in 2012, had strong suspicions she was sexually abused by her father before her death.

Nazir Afzal, who as head of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for the north-west decided not to charge Paul Worthington in 2015, said that police failures had prevented a trial.

The CPS said there were no plans to look at the case again, despite a fiveyear fight for justice for Poppi in which a High Court judge in a civil case ruled she was probably sexually assaulted shortly before her death. The inquest into the death is due to end tomorrow.

Mr Afzal said: “I had a strong suspicion that Poppi died after being sexually abused by her father. I was given a case file by the police that had so many gaps that I was left with no choice. I could not approve charging Worthington based on the evidence the police investigation produced.”

In three weeks of evidence given throughout December, the coroner heard how the toddler died in hospital after arriving bleeding badly.

Mr Worthington, the prime suspect who denies any wrongdoing and refused to answer questions about the case at the inquest, was never charged due to several mistakes made by Cumbria police in 2012.

The hearing revealed that police failed to seize evidence such as Mr Worthington’s bedsheets, failed to take swabs from him until 11 hours following Poppi’s death, and did not seal the toddler’s house in Barrow-in-furness quickly enough.

The police also did not find a laptop on which Mr Worthington was watching pornography hours before Poppi died.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, Mr Afzal said: “I am still deeply frustrated no charges were brought in this case.”