| Flowers in Gods Garden
- Articles |
28/08/02 - I've been persecuted
says Climbie witness
Birmingham Post
The senior social worker found guilty of failing
to help the Victoria Climbie public inquiry said yesterday
she had been persecuted over the affair.
Carole Baptiste (39), became the first person in Britain
to be tried for deliberately breaching an inquiry summons
and was found guilty at Camberwell Green Magistrates Court.
District Judge Hayden Gott fined her pounds 500 for
refusing to attend the inquiry into the murder of eight-year-old
Victoria for more than seven months.
He dismissed her defence that she was still suffering
from a mental illness and was not fit to attend.
After the case, Baptiste, from Clapham, south London,
said she felt 'aggrieved' by the way the inquiry had
treated her.
Talking about the decision to prosecute her she said:
'Quite frankly I think that various people have acted
inappropriately and insensitively. I absolutely do think
that I have been persecuted.'
She added: 'A lot of the evidence wasn't presented
and I think that because of this factor and because
of politics this particular decision was made.
'I understand why it was made but I don't believe it's
the correct decision.
'There are a number of factors that come into play
with the inquiry. Race was possibly one of them.'
However, Victoria's parents Francis and Berthe Climbie,
were 'very disappointed' that Baptiste had not received
a harsher sentence.
In a statement issued through a family friend after
the case, the parents said: 'Carole Baptiste was one
of those responsible. To the extent she bore her responsibility,
and the way in which she has been dealt with here today,
we, the family, expectedher to be dealt with more severely.'
Baptiste was the manager of the social services team
at north London' s Haringey Council responsible for
the care of Victoria Climbie at the time of her death.
The youngster died in February 2000 after being beaten,
starved and tortured by her great aunt, Marie Therese
Kouao, and her lover, Carl Manning, who are both serving
life for murder.
The Government-appointed inquiry, which is due to report
next month, was set up to establish how three local
authorities, police and social services which all came
into contact with Victoria before her death failed to
save her.
Baptiste, seen as an important witness, was first called
to give evidence at the inquiry in May last year, but
failed to attend.
Repeated attempts to get her to the inquiry failed,
the court was told, and eventually a summons had to
be served on her on November 27 to attend on December
3.
When she again failed to attend the inquiry chairman
Lord Laming ordered that she be prosecuted under the
Local Government Act 1972. Mr Gott said he accepted
the social worker had suffered from 'a major depressive
illness' at the end of 1999 and start of2000.
However, he dismissed claims by her defence solicitor
Peter Herbert that she was still suffering from it during
2001 and that was why she could not attend.
Baptiste previously told the court she had always planned
to give evidence but Mr Gott said he believed the only
reason she eventually did attend - in January this year
- was because of the impending prosecution.
Passing sentence, he said: 'In my judgment the balance
of medical evidence is that Ms Baptiste had recovered
from mental illness and objectively speaking was fit
to attend the inquiry.'
To her, he said: 'I'm also sure that the determining
factor in your failure to co-operate was your own personality.'
The judge said psychiatric evidence for the prosecution
said Baptiste was 'suffering from an anxiety state consistent
with concerns about appearing to give evidence at the
inquiry'. |
| Contact : bernard.omahoney@bernardomahoney.com |
|
|
| Flowers in Gods Garden |
|
| Paul Pearson |
|
| Rosie Palmer |
|
| Sophie Hook |
|
| Sarah Payne |
|
| Victoria Climbie |
|
| Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman |
- Documents
- Audio
|
| The Yorkshire Ripper |
- Video
|
|
