Baby Preston Davey - Content warning concerns CSA (added by MNHQ)

[Sadmamma35]

I’ve just read about baby Preston Davey and I cannot stop thinking about him. I have a 13-month-old of my own, which is probably why this has hit me so hard — I can really relate and my baby is my everything.
I’m crying as I write this. Why does it hurt so much for a baby I’ve never even met? Has anyone else felt this way?
How do you cope with the negative thoughts that follow when you read something like this? 💙

I’m absolutely horrified by this story. The poor little boy had 40 injuries. It’s beyond evil.

What’s really worrying me though is the safeguarding failure. The baby was taken to hospital multiple times with suspicious bruises that staff noticed. Social workers saw him too. Yet everything was apparently accepted and explained away. From what’s coming out, it seems authorities bent over backwards to believe these two men couldn’t possibly be abusers because they were a gay couple.

Has “don’t appear homophobic” become more important than protecting vulnerable children? A foster carer apparently had a gut feeling of unease at handover, but still it went ahead.

How on earth did Oldham Council, the adoption agency, social services and hospital staff not pick up on what was happening in those four short months? Are we so terrified of being called bigoted that we’re ignoring obvious risks? Surely we should assess everyone on the same strict standards without fear or favour?

It’s been discussed earlier in the thread but the issue seems to have been that the injuries were largely concealed. While Preston had been taken to hospital, he had been taken with illnesses not injuries. The injuries were explainable as well.

I hope they both rot in hell.
I suspect much more will come out about this case in time.
I had a cry when I read the verdicts. Rest in peace little Preston.

I haven’t had time to look at the news yet. I’m glad that’s the case. Do we know when sentencing is yet?

Lessons must be learnt.

How on earth could this happen.

How many times has that been said, and still the most horrible abuse happens to children.

The right verdict thank goodness.

What appropriate punishment do you suggest?

Serving their lengthy prison sentences in a humane prison. Deprivation of liberty for the decades that JV will get at least, and probably JMF is an incredibly severe punishment. If they are tortured I hope it’s by their thoughts of Preston and how badly they failed him. I don’t support prison justice, capital or corporal punishment regardless of what crimes have been committed. That doesn’t mean that I care less about Preston than those hoping for violence or that I haven’t understood the gravity of the offences they’ve committed. Just that I have a different view of how the criminal justice system should operate than those who do.

Out of interest what do you think a murdering paedophile is going to learn in prison that will ever make him safe on the outside?

Its pretty well established that recidivism is exceptionally high amongst convicted paedophiles and desistance amongst those who have crossed that rubicon once is poor.

Bear in mind that right up until the end Varley, who sexually penetrated a baby, was still in denial and insisting that everyone else was wrong. He has not even accepted responsibility for such a disgusting crime.

Sentencing is on Thursday.

I hope they both come down with a case of boiling sugar-water-itis but I imagine they’ll be protected, especially if they convert, given that muslim gangs now rule prisons.
Napalm is too good for them.

Just came on here having read that these two bastards have been found guilty. One of them gasped, collapsed and vomited apparently. Hope he hit his head on the way down.

Having just read the news article I can see that this poor child was the son of Sarah Davey who had been found guilty at the age of 14 for torturing and murdering a 71 year old woman alongside her friend. Proves what we already know about generational trauma and more peculiarly when those girls murdered the 71 year old lady they threw a photo of her son as a child into the same bin they disposed of her body in. I find it all very chilling.

metro.co.uk/2024/04/26/child-killer-sarah-davey-tortured-a-gran-death-freed-jail-20723402/

I’m not arguing with how disgusting his crime was. And out of interest, do you think he is likely to be reformed by being attacked by other rapists and murderers in prison? If we agree he’s unlikely to be reformed from his sexual interest in children, then surely having the environment he is kept in being as safe as possible for those living and working in is is preferable to unchecked violence and prison riots, which as I’ve pointed out seriously affect prison staff even if you don’t give a fig about the prisoners. I think that he should be in prison serving his sentence to keep the public safe from him, and that if he is released part of his release conditions strictly enforce that he is never to have any kind of unsupervised access to children.

Agreed. And it is always the case on these threads that anyone expressing concern over encouragement of torture, violence and suffering somehow cares less about children that those encouraging it.

This case is horrific but extreme cases make bad laws.

I think the media should have kept his birth mother out of it, tbh.

I really hope the verdict was correct. I think in this case it probably was.

I’ve said nothing on the subject of his treatment by other prisoners so you can drop the emotive and inaccurate accusations about not giving a “fig” for other prisoners.

My question was about what you think he will learn that will ever make him safe outside. We can however expand that to keeping other prisoners safe on the inside.

It seems you agree with me that he won’t ever be safe on the outside - that being the case he shouldn’t ever be on the outside. There are some crimes where the crime is so great and the likelihood of reform so low that a whole life tariff is appropriate - if this type of crime is not one of them then I’m struggling to think what would be.

@toastofthetown was agreeing with you @C8H10N4O2 .

I don’t think that poster actually read my post tbh. They certainly didn’t answer my question.

I think a whole life tariff is totally appropriate in this case. I guess more generally, what can we do to rehabilitate sexual offenders, as not all of them can have whole life tariffs. It’s a depressing topic isn’t it?

I don’t think it’s out of the question that JV might get a WLO. Probably more likely a lengthy sentence but murder comes with life sentence and a minimum term so theoretically he won’t be released unless it is safe. What that looks like will depend on what the parole system is like in 40ish years time, which is anyone’s guess. My hopeful part wants to think that there will be decades more research on criminal reoffending patterns and that will mean that a safer decision will be able to be made than would be now. My more realistic thoughts are that it will just be at the whims of whichever political party is responsible at the time, and will be based on vibes and populism.

I did answer what could keep him safe on the outside which is the only answer that can really be given for the overwhelming majority of child sex offenders who don’t have a while life tariff and that is to keep him locked up as long as possible to keep the public safe from him and make sure that it’s strictly enforced he is never to have any kind of unsupervised access to children again. As @followtheswallowpointed out, while life orders are not given out to most child sex offenders, and in the current system I don’t know what more we can do. I believe one of the reasons that committing a child sex offence doesn’t qualify for a whole life sentence on its own is so that offenders don’t just kill the child anyway because they’d be no worse off 😔 I don’t really have answers, and the lack of investment in the criminal justice system including parole officers and supervision of those who have been released with conditions is (as every other public service) stretched paper thin and so people fall through the cracks (which in reality are more like the Grand Canyon).

I'd very much like him to get a WLO but I don't know a single child murder case who got one. Happy to be proved wrong!!

He won’t be rehabilitated. Prison is for punishment; there’s very little, if any rehabilitation. Some things like paedophilia can’t be ‘cured’. For whatever reason that is their sexuality. I believe in physical castration and sterilisation of women who abuse or allow abuse of children.