ALECOMM

A council's political correctness allowed a pair of homosexual foster parents to sexually abuse children in their care, a report has concluded.

Managers and social workers were reluctant to investigate Craig Faunch and Ian Wathey for fear of being accused of prejudice.

Instead, they were viewed as "trophy carers" who, by virtue of their sexuality, had a "badge" which made their actions less questionable.

A mother of eight-year-old twins raised concerns about them with social services after finding a photograph of one of the boys using the lavatory.

But the authorities took no action, accepting that the two men had been "naive and silly".

In reality, they had been using the boys for sexual gratification within months of being approved as carers by the Labour-run Wakefield Metropolitan District Council.

Faunch, 42, and Wathey, 33, were jailed last year for a string of offences against four boys, aged between eight and 14, at their home in Pontefract, West Yorks.

The victims were among 18 children placed with the pair, Yorkshire's first homosexual foster parents, between August 2003 and January 2005.

An independent inquiry concluded that the children were let down by "failures in performance" of individuals and the systems operated by the council. However, it did not name the staff involved.

The panel, led by Brian Parrott, the former head of Surrey social services, found: "The fear of being discriminatory led them to fail to discriminate between the appropriate and the abusive.

"These anxieties about discrimination have deep roots, we argue - in social work training, professional identity and organisational cultures, and the remedies for these go beyond the remit of any single council or inquiry report."

The inquiry found that potential indicators of sexual abuse were inadequately investigated, understood or acted upon. At no time was an effective annual review of Faunch and Wathey conducted.

One social worker told the inquiry team: "Everyone was saying, 'Everything is not right, there is just something about them'.

" She added: "They were viewed as important foster carers, you didn't want to be seen discriminating against a same-sex couple."

A manager described Faunch and Wathey as "trophy carers" which led to slack arrangements over placements.

Another said that by virtue of their sexuality the pair had a "badge" which made things less questionable.

Faunch was jailed for six years and Wathey for five years at Leeds Crown Court last June, five weeks after taking part in a civil partnership ceremony.

Passing sentence, Judge Sally Cahill QC told them: "You are presented as a couple, but this is not about homosexuality, it is about a breach of trust."

Elaine McHale, Wakefield's corporate director of family services, said it would be inappropriate to comment on the report before it is presented to the full council next week.

It is not yet clear whether individuals will lose their jobs as a result of the findings.

Michelle Elliott, of the charity Kidscape, said: "Common sense went out of the window when they allowed political correctness to take over in this case."   ^{_{(Source : http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1562313/Fear-of-prejudice-let-gay-carers-abuse-boys.html)}}

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