Father of Poppi may be charged after all
THE father of tragic Poppi Worthington may face criminal charges after all, prosecutors said last night.
A judge this week ruled that Paul Worthington, 48, raped or gravely assaulted his 13month-old daughter before she died in 2012.
The Crown Prosecution Service has now said it is ‘reviewing’ its decision last year not to take any action over the case.
Officials were provided with a file by Cumbrian police who were accused of carrying out a botched investigation.
However, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) said that just one officer faces disciplinary proceedings which may result in dismissal.
Detective Inspector Amanda Sadler – a former beauty queen who was Miss Great Britain 1989 – is to undergo a ‘satisfactory performance’ inquiry. The harrowing case has resurfaced following the findings of High Court Judge Mr Justice Peter Jackson following a legal campaign by the Daily Mail and other media groups.
In a fact-finding judgment released on Tuesday, his report said Poppi must have suffered terrible injuries following a sexual assault by her father at the family home in Barrow-in-Furness. He said an incompetent and ‘deficient’ investigation by Cumbria police meant the evidence that could have proved how she died was lost. Officers failed to begin any serious investigation for more than eight months.
The CPS said yesterday: ‘ Following the findings of the Family Court judge we are now reviewing the case.’
The Family Court has ignited an outcry over the way the authorities in Cumbria covered up the case. For three years the conduct of police, social workers and medical staff was hushed up, and at one stage the local council tried to persuade a court to ban all mention of the death until 2029.
MPs from all parties have demanded an outside police force be sent in to start a new criminal investigation.
Ministers have so far declined to take any action against police or social workers before a second inquest into Poppi’s death is held.
A farcical first inquest lasted just seven minutes and suppressed all information about her death.