Oxfordshire girl, 13, abused by relative killed herself at residential home

A 13-year-old girl sexually abused by a relative killed herself at a residential home where risk assessments were "inadequate", a report found.

The teenager, from Oxfordshire, was moved to a home in Wrexham in October 2012 and died in February 2013.

The girl and her siblings had been known to authorities since birth because of concerns over "physical, sexual and emotional abuse".

Thames Valley Police said its handling of the case "could have been better".

A serious case review said the girl was 10 when she alleged "regular sexual abuse" by a family member in 2010.

She was interviewed twice by specialist police officers, but they judged there to be "insufficient evidence" for a realistic prospect of conviction.

That year, assessments found the girl to be "severely distressed and suicidal".

In June 2011, a finding of fact hearing concluded she had been sexually abused by a family member. No one was prosecuted.

A serious case review by the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board (OSCB) was first commissioned in 2013, but investigations delayed publication until last week.

Its report said the response to her complaints of sexual abuse "fell short of the standards" expected today, with the police officer who first dealt with her being too inexperienced.

There was also no immediate contact with social workers or an assessment to find whether an intermediary might have been appropriate, it said.

As a result the girl was left feeling "guilty and disbelieved", the report found.

She was cared for by foster carers from 2011 to 2012, but following "relentless" self-harm she was sectioned for her own safety.

The report found the decision to move the girl to the Brambley House Children's Home in Wrexham in 2012 - three hours away from her home - was "driven by the provider" rather than people who were working with her.

The report said there was also "insufficient" investigation into whether the home was appropriate, noting that the girl found being restrained by men difficult, and most of the home's staff were male.

Twenty five incidents of self-harm or troubled behaviour were recorded during her time at the home, and she was found dead in her room in February 2013.

Wrexham Borough Council prosecuted Bryn Melyn Care Limited, which ran the home, at Mold Crown Court last year. The council had earlier found an assessment of ligature points at the home was inadequate.

The company admitted breaching a general duty to a person other than an employee and was fined £600,000 in November 2020.

Bryn Melyn Care Limited was taken over by Outcomes First Group in October 2020.

In a statement, Outcomes First Group said: "No one from Bryn Melyn management is involved in the group anymore so we are unable to provide further comment. Bryn Melyn paid the fine."

The safeguarding report found that although the girl was judged to have settled at the home well, "there was always a risk of completed suicide" given how frequently she would self-harm.

It said her suicide risk "should have been reflected in a specific plan".

The report made 10 recommendations, including ensuring there was a "clear local system" for commissioning and ensuring the quality of placements for children with the most complex needs.

Ch Supt Katy Barrow-Grint, of Thames Valley Police, said the force had taken the girl's report of sexual abuse "extremely seriously and went to great lengths to secure evidence".

She said: "On reflection in this case, there were areas of engagement with the victim and approach with partners that could have been better.

"Much has changed since this investigation with a child-focused approach adopted as best practice."

But she added that no recommendations had been made for Thames Valley Police following the review.

Oxford Health, which runs youth mental health services in Oxfordshire, said there had been "considerable learning" since the girl's death.

There have been "significant changes" to how someone like the girl would be dealt with today, a spokesperson said.

The OSCB's independent chair Derek Benson said "considerable improvements" had been made since 2013, but he welcomed the recommendations "to reduce the risk of such a tragedy happening again".

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