Tia Sharpe case

[phantomnamechanger]

I had been wondering about this case ever since it first hit the headlines last year, as my DD is the same age as Tia
uk.news.yahoo.com/tia-sharp-hazell-took-photo-girls-body-163949011.html#R5Rq9Sd distressing details emerging of this case. poor child. I hope her killer gets a very very very long sentence. What a week, with this and the April Jones case. Sick, sick individuals.

Carpevinum, may I stand up and applaud you for that post. You have excellently articulated my thoughts.

Poor, poor Tia

I know from personal experience that drug use within families does tend to lead to 'fuzzy boundaries'

And there are many many more children living lives like that, with chaotic families and lack of proper boundaries and care. Its just horrific that in this case its led to this.

This is one of those instances where the use of the term 'partner' can be really misleading. Hazell's relationship with Tia's mother, as DuttyWine said earlier, seems to have lasted for a very short time - here's info from a BBC article

"Hazell became involved in a short relationship with Tia's mother Natalie Sharp, probably lasting only a week or two, and later with her mother, Christine Bicknell, for five and a half years. He moved in a week after they got together"

To me, calling people who were together for less than a fortnight 'partners' is ludicrous. It does put the grandmother in a better light - this wasn't a short term relationship - though the speed of moving in is perhaps not ideal.

I haven't read a lot about Tia's biological father's involvement in her life. I know he has been in court etc. Did Tia live with him while questions were being asked about her mother and mother's partner's drug use?

Well that report in the guardian leaves room for the question, were the mother's and grandmother's reduced qualms in the face of his potential boundry issue and criminal background in part minimised by social services descions.

I wonder if they knew. And if they did just how dire a situation was that child living in that would lead child protection professionals to believe she was safer with her grandmother despite the massive red flags her relationship with that man was creating.

And just how starved of funds, resources and manpower is social services become before there is an awakening to the reality that thr saftey net is becoming ever more hole than net. In a world where children really mattered in deed as well as idea there would have been better options available other than juggling children between known unsafe and potentially unsafe situations.

But I guess it will now follow the set pattern, child protection scapegoated becuase their options were limited and their staff overloaded and a return to business as usual where by and large children's fates are cared about only as long as their picture is on the front page and the media milks every bit of profit they can out of stories about the person that killed her and the dysfunctional family that had no clue how to keep her safe.

And then despite the "lessons learned" nothing actually changes that could really make a difference and the gov of the day colludes with govs of the past to let a poor public image of SS and child protection aid the avoidence of trying to stitch together the ever growing holes in the net.........til the next child is horribly abused and it all begins again.

I can think of quite a few cases in recent years where children have been murdered by the boyfriends of their mothers.

Unfortunately in some sections of society having a boyfriend will always be paramount to some women, placed far and above the needs of their own children.

He just got 38 years

I agree Maryz.

I have seemingly sane and sensible friends who commit far too quickly to new partners and 'step' status.

5 years is too quickly?!

Vile, victim blaming thread.

Thanks again Carpe and Stomp. Whatever any of the primary adults in Tia's short life were thinking, her safety was clearly not a priority.

Thank god he's been sentenced to a minimum of 38 years.

38 years! Excellent,hope he's terrified. He thought he was looking at 15-18.

NC78, I haven't seen anyone blaming the victim (Tia).

Not commenting on this case specifically NC78

Just a generalisation that amongst people I know many parents (of both sexes) accept new love interests into their children's lives without so much as a cursory glance over that persons past, or enough time to make any valid judgements based on behaviour and character over a prolonged period

These same people wouldn't dream of dropping their child off for an hour with say, an unregistered child minder.

Her mother has just had a child murdered. She is not a victim?

Not read all the thread but the grandmother had been with him for 5 years so hardly a fling. Of course she would give him unsupervised access after 5 years.

It's possible she knew nothing of his past and even so he had nothing in his past to suggest he'd hurt a child. Lots of people have dodgy pasts and history of assaults etc (I work in prisons with men like this everyday) but still don't commit murder or are paediphiles. Crimes like that don't go hand in hand. He had history of assault etc yes but we don't know the details, he could have got into a fight as a teenager, not minimising it but how on earth could the family forsee this?

Yes, but the gran was with this man for 5 years.

He had a criminal record - but not for sex crimes.

Plenty of reformed criminals out there. In fact, even amongst hardened criminals, paedophiles are seen as scum, that's why they get so much protection in prison. These perverts gain access to kids because the parents trust them, happens at all levels of society. He could have done a good job of convincing the gran he was a reformed character or a lovable rogue. We just don't know.

Seems to me, that lot of assumptions being made about the mum and gran just because they are not boden clad middle class professionals. Where is the evidence they were druggies, a chaotic family or that social services were involved? I haven't seen that, or is that something I have missed?

Red flags and awareness of grooming are an important thing to raise awareness of, but there is no need to single out individual cases, especially not a bereaved family.

Nc78

Exactly. Evan in the prison I work men who are even suspected of bei paediphiles are attacked with no evidence at all. prisoners are often parents too and I work with both types daily and they are completely different characters. it's odd that there was no suggestion of anything going on before 5 years which does seem to suggest something went wrong unexpectedly rather than long term grooming

Plus, if they have made poor choices, do you not think they are paying for them in the worst possible way? Do they really need to be spat at in the street and flamed on social media.

Yeah, you missed it Nc78 Up thread there's a link to a guardian article stating the Mother was a crack head, social services were involved with the family, and Tias room at her Grans house was her 'safe haven' from her chaotic home life :(

As Carpe has said, if we just give the mother unquestioning 'victim' status, we learn nothing, we just wait to read about the next Tia in the papers. When do YOU think is the right time to start questioning the background to this crime? Now? In 6 months time? After the next murder? If criticism of this family leads to one less similar death then I'm afraid I think it has done some good - surely the Sharp family would hate any other family to go through what they are going through?

From what I've read, his interest in prepubescent girls has been a growing interest, so there may not have been red flags in that area of his character initially.

A criminal record (amongst many other things) is plenty enough for a person to never spend any time alone with my dcs.

I could possibly forgive eventually a youthful indiscretion for theft or breach of the peace type thing, if it was a one time only thing.

His list of crimes is so long its shocking. He is a second generation 'career' criminal.

So yes. Tia's gm and mother are both guilty of letting him spend time alone with her - a known to be vulnerable youngster imho.

The 'alone' part is vital.

Tia's gm could easily have had her own relationship with Hazell without Tia becoming his victim.

I still think this thread is poor taste even if the mum was a crack head. She is still human even if she is a druggie.