Justin Levinson is acting on behalf of two sisters who were repeatedly raped by their father and made pregnant a total of 18 times during a 35 year campaign of physical and sexual abuse. Claims are being brought against Sheffield and Lincolnshire social services for failing to protect them.
An independent review of the case published on 10 March 2010 disclosed that more that 100 care professionals from 28 agencies were involved with the family between 1973 and 2008. The report by Pat Cantrill, an assistant chief nursing officer, found that care workers were too willing to accept the parents’ assurances and failed to talk to, or listen to, the children. The report stated that “it only needed one person to have analysed the situation effectively and recognised the need to take appropriate action”, yet not one professional “had the tenacity” to follow through their concerns.
Public sector agencies in Lincolnshire and Sheffield jointly issued an “unreserved apology” to the women in the wake of the report.
