[2025] EWHC 2637 (Fam)

Fecha: 25-Jul-2025

The father’s arrest and subsequent events

The father’s arrest and subsequent events

89.

On 22 May 2024 the father was arrested at his home for the offence of sexual assault against a child under the age of 13. A was in the property at the time. In response to his arrest, the father commented that he had not been able to perform sex for 3-4 years.

90.

Following the father’s arrest, A was placed in police protection and the local authority were notified about her situation. The following day she was placed in foster care where she has remained since under a series of interim care orders, the first of which was made on 30 May 2024, two days after the local authority commenced care proceedings.

91.

The police evidence is that during their initial conversation with A following the father’s arrest, A spoke to them very quickly in Urdu. The police used Google translate to understand what she said. Her words were translated as follows:

‘She used to put chilies in her eyes, she used to hit her finger in her eyes, she used to put meeting in her mouth, she used to lock herself in the room at night, she used to put chilies in her food when she didn’t like it, she used to hit her mother with shoes, she used to say that it was wrong, she used to say that I will kill you. I will get married one day. My shoes used to beat one day.’

92.

The arresting officer noted that A did not ask for her father during this initial conversation, although later, in the car, she did ask after him and was upset. At the police station, A told officers that she had come to England ‘five days ago’ from Pakistan and that in Pakistan she had been living with her mother and father. Asked if A speaks to her mother, she responded ‘only once’, adding that she does not like her as her mother ‘beats her up’. She went on to say that her father had taken her from their home in Pakistan to ‘a relative’s address’ because ‘she didn’t like her mother’. She stated that she had stayed with various other relatives in Pakistan. A spoke about flying from Lahore with her father and said that he had been trying to obtain a new passport for her. She said that she got on with everyone at the house in England and that she liked playing games with ‘her sister’ (a reference, I presume, either to AD or to her older brother’s daughter).

93.

On 23 May 2024 the father was interviewed by the police under caution in the presence of a solicitor and with the assistance of an interpreter. He answered ‘no comment’ to many of the questions put to him. He did, however, restate to the police his inability to perform sex, making different claims as to when this had first occurred. He referred to the incident on 26 December 2020 as being the cause, but also claimed that his lack of sexual function dated back to the period following A’s birth when the mother had poisoned him by adding a substance to his food. At one stage he went so far as to claim that he had not been sexually capable for 12 years.

94.

The father also asserted in his interview that the video ‘has been made up by my wife’. He described her as ‘not a good woman, doing prostitution work’. Asked how the mother felt about him bringing A to England, he claimed that ‘at first she was happy’, asserting that she had probably changed her mind after a few months motivated by the potential to come to England herself. He claimed to have removed A from a situation in which she was being abused by the mother and that A herself had asked him to ‘take me to England, I want to get education there’. He asserted that A was scared of the mother and did not want to meet her.

95.

At one stage during the interview the father was shown a still image from the video and asked if he recognised the location. He initially responded ‘no comment’. Asked whether it was his home in England, he replied ‘No, in Pakistan. I don’t want to comment. Bed and things, it’s Pakistan.’ When the interviewing officer suggested to the father that the female person in the video looked like a child, the father gave the following response:

‘Where I was living in Pakistan, no girl or any under-age was allowed to come there. I was living alone, but in Pakistan some people physically very slim and thin, even they have age but they look like really young, sometimes that happen. Wife, she is 30 years old but she looks really young because she’s slim, short.’

96.

At certain points of the interview, the father departed from his ‘no comment’ approach to deny emphatically the allegation being made against him. Asked about his relationship with his children, the father described them as ‘very good children’ who love and respect him. He said they were ‘So honest. So good. And I love them’.

97.

At around the time of the father’s arrest, his home was searched. The items removed from the home included Viagra and what the police notes describe as a ‘sex book’. I do not attach any significance to these items having been found. The father was not the only adult who lived at the property and I am not able to infer that these were his items.

98.

The father’s mobile phone was removed from him at the time of his arrest. It was searched comprehensively. The search did not reveal any videos, images or other material to suggest that he has an interest in under-age girls.

99.

Following A’s removal into care, she has said things to her foster carer, FC, and to social workers which are highly relevant in these proceedings. On 28 May 2024 she told a social worker that she did not want to see her mother and that she was ‘evil’. Through a ‘direct work’ exercise, she conveyed that she was happy with her father and sad with her mother, whom she described as ‘a witch’. On that day she threatened to break the phone if made to speak to her mother.

100.

On 28 May 2024 A spoke about travelling in ‘a big white taxi’ on the date she left her mother, stressing that she had requested her father to travel with her to the UK and speaking about hiding under a bed to prevent her mother from finding her. According to the first social worker’s evidence:

‘[A] then spoke about a plan that her father had. If he was arrested, he was going to stay with a friend …, who would be able to take him back to Pakistan. [The friend] was then going to take [A] separately to meet [the father], after which they would travel together to Saudi Arabia, she said they were planning to travel to the Holy Land.’

101.

On 21 June 2024 A had a conversation with the second social worker and continued to speak negatively about the mother alleging that she would become angry and hit her.

102.

FC has given evidence about the period since 23 May 2024 during which A has been in her care. As I set out above, she has prepared daily logs which have been produced in these proceedings, written on the basis that they may one day be read by A. When A first started living with FC she did not speak English.

103.

FC’s evidence set out in her first statement dated 21 November 2024, which I accept, is as follows:

‘Since [A] has been in my care she has spoken often about her mother and father and her experiences before her arrival in the UK. She has spoken about incidents in similar ways on different occasions and I have recalled what she has said, or expanded upon in the foster carer logs. I recall that the day after she was placed in my care, [A] told me that she did not miss her mother as she was not a nice person. In the early days of her staying with me [A] would say that her mother was fat with spots on her face and her mother was very ugly. She didn’t call her by her name, she called her “a witch”. Before [A] started to have video contact with her mother she was worried about her father finding out that she was seeing her mother. She also asked me whether she would be sent back to live with her mother. When she was reassured she seemed excited to be having contact with her mother.

At first [A] was adamant that she didn’t want to have anything to do with her mother. [The social worker] spoke to her about her situation and how [A] being removed from her father’s care by the police was nothing to do with her mother. [A] was very shocked after this. She spoke to me later that day to ask whose fault it was that she had been removed from her father’s care. I said that it was another adult, she asked who it was and I said I didn’t know. I said that in Pakistan people don’t listen to children but here [the social worker] will listen to you and tell you what is going on. [A] asked whether that was why you don’t have to hide a child from a parent here.

When [A] started having video contact with her mother she was surprised at how pretty her mother was , she was surprised she didn’t look like a witch. She had so much anger towards her mother previously it was as if she had forgotten what her mother actually looked like.

Now [A] talks about her mother and father freely on a daily basis. It is mostly positive experiences. When she has contact with her mother she enjoys the contact and speaks happily about the contact afterwards, she doesn’t talk so much after she has had contact with her father.

[A] seems to enjoy her contact with her mother, she has asked for it to be extended as she says it is over so quickly. They have conversations and talk about their memories. She has told me that they would cook together, and go to parks and the Zoo. She speaks to her mother in Urdu. [A] tells her mother that she is happy, what she has been doing at school and in free time when with me. She speaks freely with her mother, as if she doesn’t have to hide anything from her mother. She says she misses her mother.

104.

As is apparent from that evidence, in the early days following her removal to foster care, A spoke very negatively about her mother. For example, she made allegations of physical chastisement with a shoe on 29 June 2024 and 29 August 2024 and on 17 September 2024 she alleged that chilli powder was put in her mouth as a punishment. By contrast, she was wholly positive about her father, enjoying her contact with him and describing him as a ‘wonderful person’. To FC, she sounded ‘very scripted’ when speaking of her parents. When she first started living with FC, she had nightmares.

105.

As is also apparent from the evidence, over time a very different picture began to emerge from the early days. Not only did A respond with warmth and affection to the contact she had with her mother and speak about missing her, she began also to reveal things which painted a worrying picture about her father. She said she had witnessed him shouting loudly at her mother, as well as the parents shouting loudly at each other. Moreover, according to FC’s evidence, A conveyed revealing information about the period following her removal from the mother’s care:

‘[A] recalls arguments between her parents when she and her father travelled to [S village]. She said that she didn’t see her mother at all during this period and she missed her mother. [A] was not allowed to talk about her mother.’

106.

In her second statement 4 March 2025, FC set out details of significant events since the date of her first statement. These include the following:

3 December 2024

‘[A] speaks about missing her mother and she gets upset and says she misses her. [A] used to speak about [S village] when she first came to stay, but she speaks less about it now. She used to speak about [S village] as a happy time but now she seems more negative about the experience and she gets upset when she speaks about [S village]. She is triggered at times with an old memory. I was making a voice note on my phone and [A] said to me that she knew how to make a voice note and she then went on to say that her father had made her make voice notes on his phone. Some of the things he would tell her to say were true and some of the things were untrue. He told her to say that her mother would hit her and this was untrue. She now feels guilty about making the voice notes and lying about her mother’s behaviour towards her. [A] also told me that when she was having face to face contact with her father, he took the opportunity of saying to her when they were away from the interpreter/contact supervisor to tell her not to speak to her mother otherwise she would be sent back to Pakistan. [A] has told me that he is more short tempered with her as what she is saying is getting him into trouble.’

5 December 2024

‘[A] often is upset after video contact with her mother and maternal grandmother and uncle, she says that she doesn’t have long enough with her mother and maternal family. When she has contact she tells her mother about her day and she is happy and I can hear that the mother and maternal family are responsive, they sound interested in her day and what she has been up to and she likes to chat to them. She tells her mother that she is happy, she doesn’t tell her father that as I think she feels responsible for him and doesn’t want to upset him. She tells me that she would rather talk to her mother on Fridays than her father.’

28 December 2024

‘[A] started to pick her lip when she had a cold and her lips were dry. She now seems to pick her lip when she is anxious, this would often be when she had contact with her father. This was during virtual contact as I would see her doing this, I don’t know whether she does this during face to face contact as I am not present. I remember during one contact session the father complained the whole time that [A] was playing with an elastic band, he told her to stop playing with it and to sit up straight. I am not always in the room when the father is having contact and I can hear her sobbing through the door, she often cries during her contact with the father and hides under the table. He will tell her to stop crying and to smile for the camera as they are being recorded. Sometimes she will shout

at him and pull faces at him. He tells her not to pull faces at the student social worker, … who is also on the video call and [A] says I am not pulling faces at [the student social worker], I am pulling faces at you.

I noticed that over the Christmas period when [A] was not having contact with her father, she picked her lip less and she seemed more relaxed and happy.’

31 December 2024

‘You told me that the father was whispering to you in face to face contact to say, don’t tell anyone what I tell you during contact. She told me that he said not to talk to the mother and she used to hit you. The contact workers have told [A] that she needs to come and stand by them if the father tries to whisper anything to her.’

2 January 2025

‘[A] told me that she doesn’t love her father anymore and she wants to live with her mother. I didn’t ask her why and said she can talk to [the social worker] about it.’

3 January 2025

‘[A] was really pleased that she didn’t have video time with her father today as she says it is no fun for her.’

107.

On 9 January 2025, A had a conversation with FC, the content of which is highly relevant to the issue as to the circumstances of her removal from the mother’s care. FC’s evidence is as follows:

‘[A] told me that she only liked to have contact with her mother and not her father. After mum's contact today [A] said I really don't want to talk to my dad anymore. I don't like talking to him, I asked if she is worried about video contact on Friday, she said I don't want to talk to him. However I will because dad makes me feel sad and feel hurt but I like the feeling of being sad and hurt.

[A] then said that I need tell you something but I don't know if I can as my heart is beating really fast. I need to tell you what Dad did to my Mum in Pakistan. [A] said my Dad injected Mum with a syringe at my Dad's house and he had 8 men with him helping him, who she described as 'bosses' and his taxi driver. She said after the injection mum was crying loudly and was saying her prayers in Arabic as she thought she was dying. My Dad then wrapped Mum in a blanket and men carried her away to the second storey room in the house. I saw her in the room and she was crying and she gave me hug to say goodbye. I don't know what happened to Mum after this but my Dad was very cold. He did not care what he did to his wife (my Mum) and he didn't feel sorry for her. After that he took me and we left for [S village] and the same taxi driver took us.

She said I used to think that my dad was a really good person but he is not a nice person. My Dad used to say behind my Mum's back that only 2 of us are going to England but I used to say 'no' all 3 of us going but he said no only me and you are going and he used tell me that my Mum is a witch and a bad person and in future it will just be two of us. [A] then said I now realise that the bad person is my Dad.

[A] further said that a few months before we [w]ent to [S village] that when she was at her dad's house with mum her parents argued and my Dad picked up the saucepan and hit Mum on her hand and her fingers were bleeding badly. [A] and her Mum then left and went to sit in the graveyard near the house. My Nan came and took me and Mum home after that my Nan and Uncles beat up my Dad with a metal pole wrapped in a wire and he was bleeding from everywhere, the ambulance came and took my Dad away. [A] then said I always remember what happened to my Mum in my head but did not know who I could talk to. I think my Dad thought that I won't remember anything as I was only 5 years old but I do.

I did not put this information into the diary sheets as it is not child friendly. I did inform [the social worker]. After [A] told me this account, she seemed a lot happier, as if a weight had been lifted from her.’

108.

By contrast with the positive experiences FC was having with the mother, FC’s second statement describes problems in the contact with F. On three occasions in January and February 2025 she refers to A being upset during contact. On 14 February 2025 A spoke about being keen for the contact to end.

109.

The more recent evidence about contact is essentially to the same effect. Most recently A has started having face-to-face contact with the mother and this has been a positive experience for her. By contrast, I was told that on at least one recent occasion she had refused to see the father.