Boy, 5, who drowned when he was left to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a YEAR before he died as his stepfather is jailed for seven years

by HoratioTarr on Wed Dec 20, 2017 6:25 pm

A five-year-old boy who drowned after being allowed to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a year before his death, a court heard.
Birmingham Crown Court was told Charlie Dunn was dragged from a lagoon by other children minutes after his stepfather, Paul Smith, was seen swearing and blaming others for his disappearance in July 2016.
Smith was jailed for seven and a half years on Wednesday after admitting Charlie's manslaughter on the grounds of gross negligence, witness intimidation and driving while disqualified.
It emerged in court that Smith, of Tamworth, Staffordshire, was a 'person of interest' for the authorities after amassing ten previous convictions covering 28 offences, including burglary and theft.
The 'arrogant and self-centred' stepfather of a five-year-old who drowned at a water park while he smoked cigarettes was jailed for seven-and-a-half years today.

Charlie, who couldn't swim and was 'terrified of water', was found at the bottom of the Blue Lagoon pond at Bosworth Water Park in Leicestershire in July last year by children looking for some goggles.
Smith was seen smoking nearby and heard exclaiming: 'For f***'s sake, we're ready to go. I don't know where he f****** is' and it later emerged Charlie had been under the water unnoticed for 22 minutes.
He intimidated witness Rachel Freeman who saw his feckless behaviour and told her he would 'petrol bomb' her house, 'rip her head off' and kill her daughter and disabled husband.
Smith, who has 10 previous convictions for 28 crimes, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in prison for gross negligence manslaughter, the threats to Ms Freeman and a driving offence.

Jailing him Mrs Justice Jefford rejected Smith's claims that he had been an 'impeccable' stepfather and said: 'Nothing could be further from the truth. You were completely indifferent to Charlie's whereabouts and safety'.
Passing sentence, she said: 'I do not doubt that Lynsey Dunn and Paul Smith had genuine love and affection for Charlie.'
Rejecting Smith's assertions that he had been an 'impeccable' stepfather, the judge told him: 'Nothing could be further from the truth.
'One father (in the lake at the park) had to explain to another that Charlie was not his son. You were completely indifferent to Charlie's whereabouts and safety.
'This was not a case in which there was an isolated and momentary lapse in care and supervision.'

Charlie's mother Lyndsey, 28, who was described as having a 'limited intellect', was given an eight-month suspended sentence for child cruelty and is standing by her partner.

The boy was pulled from the water by other children who felt his lifeless body beneath their feet in July 2016. He had been submerged for 22 minutes.
Social services are known to have become involved with Charlie, whose death is being examined by a serious case review, when he was 14 months old.
The court heard Staffordshire County Council had noted 'poor home conditions, a lack of food and poor hygiene' before putting in place a child protection plan.
Smith 'had a status of being a risk to children', the court heard, but it wasn't made clear why.
But there was no evidence of Charlie having come to harm when the plan was put in place, prosecutor Mary Prior QC said.
Speaking about the instance of witness intimidation, she said: 'On June 19, he went to Ms Freeman's home.
'He threatened to petrol bomb their house and torch their car.
'He told her that was going to rip her head off.
'She was happy in her home but was so traumatised that she had to move home.
'They had to go into a caravan to get away.
'This family have done nothing to deserve this trauma in their life.
'As a result of what Mr Smith did, his bail was taken away.'
The court heard how, during a 999 call made by Ms Freeman, Smith could be heard in the background saying 'f*** her I ain't bothered', as he drove off with Dunn.
The incident led to Smith being in custody, and during his incarceration he would repeatedly communicate with his partner by phone.
Discussions over who would give evidence in their trial was a 'regular feature' of their conversations, and at one stage Smith, in reference to Ms Freeman, said: 'That's the first throat I'm going for.'

Mrs Justice Jefford sentenced Smith to five years and two months for Charlie's manslaughter with a consecutive two-year term for threatening to petrol-bomb the home of a witness and a further four months for driving while disqualified.
Dunn, 28, was given an eight-month suspended jail term after admitting neglecting Charlie in a separate incident in 2015.
The then four-year-old was seen by a neighbour pedalling a toy car towards a busy main road, and was only saved from riding into the traffic by the woman, who ran after him.

Passing sentence the judge said: 'One father (in the lake at the park) had to explain to another that Charlie was not his son.
'This was not a case in which there was an isolated and momentary lapse in care and supervision.'
The judge said of the children aged 10, 11 and 12 who found Charlie and pulled him from the water at least 20 minutes after he was last seen: 'This must have been a horrific experience for them and I take this opportunity to praise the care that these young boys showed for Charlie.'
During her sentencing remarks, the High Court judge said Smith appeared to have 'simply given no thought' to Charlie's safety.

Charlie, who could not swim and was said to be 'terrified' of water, was pronounced dead in hospital after being found in the 4.5ft (1.4m) deep children's pool at Bosworth Water Park in Leicestershire in July 2016.

The jury heard how Smith had been heard saying 'For f***'s sake, we're ready to go. I don't know where he f****** is' as he smoked a cigarette, just moments before Charlie's body was discovered.

Addressing the judge before sentence, Mrs Prior told the court Dunn was of 'limited intellect' and had no previous convictions.
The prosecutor said of Smith: 'He took the view that Charlie, aged five, could fend for himself in among 1,000 people, in the water.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5197907/Stepfather-boy-drowned-jailed-seven-years.html

by HoratioTarr on Wed Dec 20, 2017 6:26 pm

Look at the cut of those two geraniums. Poor little boy. People like this should be sterilised.

by eddie on Wed Dec 20, 2017 6:32 pm

Twenty-two minutes. They didn't notice for that long.
Jesus fucking Christ.

by Syl on Wed Dec 20, 2017 6:40 pm

So sad, it sounds like the little lad was neglected throughout his life.

Seven years for causing the death of his stepson through sheer neglect, plus the other crimes he committed, bullying and intimidating others is a pathetically light sentence....he is a waste of space.

Women like her, who obviously cannot care for the children they produce should be sterilised.

by magica on Wed Dec 20, 2017 6:44 pm

Why didn't the mother get the same sentence?

by Lord Foul on Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:19 pm

they should both be sterilised ...then sent to the slave pens to mine uranium or such

by Original Quill on Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:32 pm

magica wrote:Why didn't the mother get the same sentence?

Daily Mail wrote:Charlie's mother Lyndsey, 28, who was described as having a 'limited intellect', was given an eight-month suspended sentence for child cruelty and is standing by her partner.

That, and the Judge's comment that she loved her son, is all the article says.

by magica on Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:41 pm

The child was known to social services and she backs the boyfriend who didn't watch the poor little boy, neither did she.

by Original Quill on Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:46 pm

magica wrote:The child was known to social services and she backs the boyfriend who didn't watch the poor little boy, neither did she.

The evidence is sparse, but apparently she is mentally retarded.

by nicko on Wed Dec 20, 2017 7:49 pm

I supposed they will say "lessons will be learned" !

by Lord Foul on Wed Dec 20, 2017 8:27 pm

Sadly this is (only one) example of what happens when you have an inalienable human right to "found a family"

I know...I know...where do you draw the line.....

BUT...

by HoratioTarr on Thu Dec 21, 2017 12:28 am

Original Quill wrote:
magica wrote:The child was known to social services and she backs the boyfriend who didn't watch the poor little boy, neither did she.

The evidence is sparse, but apparently she is mentally retarded.

We don't use the term 'retarded' in the UK. It says limited intellect, and could mean anything from being uneducated, illiterate or simple. Either way, she was deemed suitable to keep her child and raise it, so she couldn't have been that simple.

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Boy, 5, who drowned when he was left to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a YEAR before he died as his stepfather is jailed for seven years

Boy, 5, who drowned when he was left to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a YEAR before he died as his stepfather is jailed for seven years

Re: Boy, 5, who drowned when he was left to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a YEAR before he died as his stepfather is jailed for seven years

Re: Boy, 5, who drowned when he was left to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a YEAR before he died as his stepfather is jailed for seven years

Re: Boy, 5, who drowned when he was left to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a YEAR before he died as his stepfather is jailed for seven years

Re: Boy, 5, who drowned when he was left to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a YEAR before he died as his stepfather is jailed for seven years

Re: Boy, 5, who drowned when he was left to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a YEAR before he died as his stepfather is jailed for seven years

Re: Boy, 5, who drowned when he was left to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a YEAR before he died as his stepfather is jailed for seven years

Re: Boy, 5, who drowned when he was left to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a YEAR before he died as his stepfather is jailed for seven years

Re: Boy, 5, who drowned when he was left to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a YEAR before he died as his stepfather is jailed for seven years

Re: Boy, 5, who drowned when he was left to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a YEAR before he died as his stepfather is jailed for seven years

Re: Boy, 5, who drowned when he was left to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a YEAR before he died as his stepfather is jailed for seven years

Re: Boy, 5, who drowned when he was left to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a YEAR before he died as his stepfather is jailed for seven years

Re: Boy, 5, who drowned when he was left to 'fend for himself' at a water park was placed on a child protection register a YEAR before he died as his stepfather is jailed for seven years