A jury at Preston Crown Court has returned guilty verdicts in the case of baby Preston Davey, a 13 month old boy who should have been safe but instead lived through months of abuse before he was killed. The Crown Prosecution Service welcomed the verdicts, describing the outcome as the conclusion of one of the most shocking and horrific cases its prosecutors had dealt with.
The two people convicted are Jamie Varley and his partner, John McGowan Fazakerley, the couple who had been entrusted with the care of baby Preston and who were in the process of adopting him. According to the case set out in court, the child was placed with them and was on the verge of being formally adopted at the time the abuse was taking place.
Jamie Varley, a former high school teacher who had worked as a head of year, was at the centre of the case. Prosecutors said the baby had been left at the mercy of Varley, and that the very people who were supposed to protect Preston were instead the ones who harmed him. What was described as a tragic end came after the child had been entrusted to their care.
The court heard that Preston was subjected to sickening physical and sexual abuse during the last four months of his life. The transformation of the child was stark: from a happy, healthy and bubbly baby at around nine months old, he went, within a matter of weeks, to being killed by those responsible for looking after him in his own home.
Speaking outside court, Wendy Logan, a district Crown Prosecutor for the CPS in the North West, said it was difficult to comprehend how the very people who should have protected the boy could inflict such abuse on an innocent child. She said no child should have to endure what Preston went through, and added that her thoughts were with all those who loved him. Preston's biological family were present in court and were described as extremely distressed.
The conviction has also raised wider questions about how a highly visible child, one who was about to be formally adopted, could be left without protection and harmed in this way. In response, Oldham Council is set to resume a serious case review to examine the decision to place Preston with the couple and whether any opportunities to protect him were missed during the process.