Baby had sexual abuse injuries, murder trial told

The court heard that the baby, who was allegedly killed by a high school teacher who adopted him, suffered sexual abuse injuries.

Jamie Varley, 37, is accused of murdering 13-month-old Preston Davey, while his partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, is also accused of allowing his death and both have been charged with sexual abuse.

Dr. Joanne Gifford told the jury at Preston Crown Court that she found evidence that Preston had suffered emotional abuse and physical injuries that could not be explained as accidental.

The court heard Preston was born on June 16, 2022, and was initially taken into care by Oldham Council. He was placed with foster parents and eventually adopted.

• Warning: The following court evidence contains disturbing information

In April 2023, at the age of 10 months, the “sweet and cheerful” baby was adopted by Varley, with whom McGowan-Fazakerley lives in Blackpool.

It is alleged that during the four months Preston was with the couple, he was constantly mistreated, indecent photographs and videos were taken, and he was sexually harassed and physically assaulted.

Both men deny all charges against them.

Gifford, a child sexual abuse expert and clinical leader at the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said he examined the evidence in the case and prepared a 173-page report, parts of which he was asked about in court by prosecutor Peter Wright KC.

The witness said he found approximately 40 trauma injuries to Preston, internal and external, including lacerations and cuts, and “more than 30” bruises on his body.

Jurors were shown videos and photographs of the child’s bruising before and after his death, along with images of his anatomy, parts of which were described as “abnormal” and caused by “forced entry,” according to a Home Office pathologist.

Gifford told jurors: “The injuries are clinical signs of sexual abuse. Multiple incidents.”

The court heard Preston was admitted to Blackpool Victoria Hospital three times before his death.

He was eventually taken to the Accident and Emergency department by the defendants at around 18:30 (BST) on 27 July 2023.

Varley told police he left her in the bathroom for three or four minutes and when he returned he found her under the water.

Paramedics worked for nearly an hour to resuscitate Preston but were unable to save him.

Ministry of Internal Affairs pathologist Dr. Alison Armor ruled out asphyxiation and concluded that the cause of death was upper respiratory tract obstruction which led to Preston collapsing due to a deliberate act of asphyxiation or an object or objects being inserted into his mouth.

Gifford said he identified three “bad misses” during which Preston was in critical condition.

In the 29-second video on Varley’s phone, the baby is seen lying on the floor wearing only a diaper and having trouble breathing.

Gifford was also asked about a video — also from Varley’s phone — that was taken about 90 minutes before Preston was taken to the hospital on the day of his death.

In this movie, the little boy is having trouble breathing on a bed in a nursery.

Preston showed “extreme respiratory distress,” Gifford said.

He added: “I watched this clinically and wanted to resuscitate him immediately – he looks terminal in the video.

“There are parts of not being able to breathe. Panting. I would describe it as agonal panting.”

“That’s a child in the video who needs to be resurrected.”

Gifford also said he was able to identify nine bruises on his face and one on his chin, in addition to the 30 injuries found in the autopsy.

He said a child his age and height learning to walk would generate only “low force” compared to an older child who could hurt himself on a skateboard or bike, for example.

The large number of bruises and the fact that they often appear in clusters and in patterns suggestive of “grab-type” marks are indicative of physical abuse, Gifford said.

Gifford told the jury it wasn’t “even remotely clinically plausible” that they could have happened accidentally.

‘Frozen mindfulness’

There was also evidence of emotional abuse, he said.

Preston told the jury that Varley was yelling “Boo!” He referred to a video that showed him “scared” when he shouted. of him falling asleep and other videos of him alone in the bathroom for 14 minutes.

Other videos show him being spun around on a park playground, his eyes rolling back.

“These are difficult videos to watch,” he said. “They’re a child going through unpleasant experiences.”

The child’s response of staring blankly, not laughing or not enjoying the activity may be consistent with a symptom of trauma called “frozen alertness,” Gifford said.

During the autopsy, Gifford said he identified 26 injury sites from photographs, including 30 individual bruises both external to the skin and internally beneath the surface.

These included nine bruises on the front of Preston’s head and five on the back.

He added that this was far above the number a baby this age would have and was not consistent with accidents or normal household behavior.

Varley denies murder, manslaughter, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of cruelty to a child, causing grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, 13 counts of taking an indecent photograph or video of a child, one count of distributing an indecent photograph of a child to other defendants and one count of taking an indecent photograph.

McGowan-Fazakerley denies authorizing the death of a child, three counts of cruelty to children and one count of sexual assault on a child.

The hearing was postponed to Monday.

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