Northumbria Police breached paedophile's right

Today's Chronicle


Apr 8 2009 by Adam Jupp, Evening Chronicle

A PAEDOPHILE had his human rights breached when police told his bosses he was a sex offender, a court has ruled.

The man, named only as ‘W’, claimed Northumbria Police should not have told his employers he had been convicted of sexually assaulting a three-year-old boy 20 years ago.

Officers also advised W’s manager that in late 2007, he had been arrested and quizzed over allegations he had preyed on his own daughter.

The Washington man, now in his 30s, was sacked from his job and he claimed the disclosure was a breach of privacy. He took the force to the High Court to seek damages for the “loss of reputation” he suffered and a judge ruled in his favour. But W is not set for a cash payout after Mr Justice Nichol said Northumbria Police were right to tell his bosses he had been arrested in 2007, on suspicion of abusing his daughter.

Today, campaigners said they were “horrified” to learn of the ruling. Kevin Young, who set up Newcastle-based pressure group Justice4Survivors, said: “He is arguing about his human rights, but what about the rights of his victim?” Mr Young, of Jarrow, South Tyneside, added: “People are quick to criticise police when they don’t intervene to prevent repeat attacks.”

Claude Knights, director of children’s charity Kidscape, said: “It’s all well him arguing his human rights have been violated, but what about victims’ rights?”
W was 16 when he was handed a 12-month supervision order for sexually assaulting a three-year-old boy.

Decades on, he was arrested over allegations made by his daughter, who claimed she had been attacked between 1998 and 2006. A similar allegation was made in 2001. In 2007, officers contacted W’s employers to inform them of the previous conviction and of the fresh allegations amid fears he could have contact with children in his job.

After the disclosure, the CPS dropped proceedings, but he had already been sacked from his role. That led to W’s claim, with him claiming it amounted to a breach of Article 8 of the Human Rights Convention.

During the hearing, Nicholas Wilcox, for Northumbria Police, argued both disclosures were “proportionate” steps. Mr Wilcox also pointed to a 2008 civil family court hearing, during which a judge found W “was a dangerous paedophile and that he had abused three children of different ages and sexes”.

That statement came after the disclosure to W’s manager, but Mr Wilcox said it demonstrated he posed a “high risk of sexual offending”.
But Mr Justice Nichol said while officers were entitled to disclose the 2007 arrest, he ruled: “W has an unanswerable complaint the decision to disclose his 1987 conviction was unlawful.”

He added the conviction was “spent” under the terms of the 1974 Rehabilitation of Offenders Act. The 2007 arrest, however, had been lawfully revealed.

Julian Knowles, for W, told the judge the police disclosures had caused him “humiliation and anxiety”.

But W was denied damages, with Mr Justice Nicol, saying he was not convinced that disclosure of the 1987 conviction had caused W’s sacking.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Jim Campbell said: “Northumbria Police felt that because of the potential risks involved, the disclosure was relevant.”

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