Paedophile cab driver who took kids to school - Town Hall fined after boy was abused
FAILINGS which led to a convicted paedophile abusing a schoolboy he met while driving for a Town Hall taxi service have been highlighted in a damning report.
Camden Council was fined £1,000 for “inadequate procedures” and “maladministration”, following an investigation by the local government ombudsman into arrangements which saw the driver get a job with its transport contractors despite 15 past convictions for offences against children.
The boy’s mother made a separate complaint to the Metropolitan Police, which is currently being investigated by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), over how the man was able to pass a Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) check.
He was working for the council’s taxi service, which provides school runs for pupils with special needs, at the time of the incident in November 2008.
Ombudsman Jane Martin, who oversaw the investigation, said there was an element of “doubt” over whether the council could have done more to protect the child in the report of her findings published this week.
But her investigation found:
• Council and contractor staff did not obtain references or an employment history of the driver.
• Council staff were unaware of its own safeguard recruitment policy.
• The driver was not interviewed in line with the council’s recruitment procedures.
The driver, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is currently serving an indeterminate prison sentence for separate sexual assault charges he was convicted of last year.
The convictions were handed down overseas, and, despite being known to British authorities, were overlooked during criminal record checks in 2007. He was also able to obtain a taxi licence from Transport for London (TFL).
Ms Martin’s report states: “I consider the council’s inadequate procedures constituted maladministration. It is difficult to say whether proper procedures would have made a difference to events but they may well have increased the chances of Mr Y’s past history coming to light.
“The complainant will always be left with some doubt that the council could have done more to protect her child. To recognise this injustice arising from the council’s fault, I recommend the council pays £1,000 in recognition of the distress she endured, plus £200 in recognition of her time and trouble in pursuing this complaint. In doing so, she has brought important issues into the public domain.”
The Town Hall has reiterated its apology to the family of the victim and says it has made improvements to the way it monitors its contractors.
A statement released by Camden Council said: “This is a tragic case and we would again like to express our apologies to the family and offer them our continued support.
“Our contractor did check that this man was cleared to work with children but unfortunately faults with the CRB system meant that his previous crimes were not recorded and his CRB checks confirmed that his record was clean. There is important learning here for all the agencies involved with children and we have been working with our contractors on recruitment and awareness to ensure that everyone has the tools and the confidence to flag up when things don’t seem right.”
source:
http://www.camdennewjournal.com/news/2011/feb/
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