July 7, 2006

The trauma of being sexually assaulted could have led to the death of a three-year-old boy, a Sydney court was told today.

William Thomas Clare, who has pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting the child on September 13, 2003, is accused of murdering him later that day.

The boy and his six-year-old sister - neither of whom can be named - had been living with Clare at his unit at Concord, in Sydney's inner west, for about three weeks.

Clare had approached the children's mother at a train station and she accepted his offer to babysit, a Supreme Court trial has heard.

Just after midnight on September 14, Clare phoned triple-0, saying the boy had vomited and couldn't breathe.

Clare, who had anal intercourse with the boy, later told police the child vomited in his sleep.

But medical experts had testified that "significant pain and trauma can cause vomiting", crown prosecutor Christopher Maxwell QC said, and it was possible the child died after choking on his vomit.

"So what caused the vomiting? The crown submits (it was) the sexual intercourse," he said.

"At the time he was inflicting or committing this sexual intercourse, perhaps part of the aim was to get some sexual gratification.

"But part of what's going on in his head was a clear awareness of what he was doing and the pain he was causing."

Clare, 34, has pleaded not guilty to murdering the boy, whose cause of death was not established.

He told police that when the boy did not respond to CPR, he tried to revive him using exposed wires from an electrical cord "like a heart-starter", applying 240 volts to his chest.

In closing submissions to the jury today, Mr Maxwell said if they found the boy had choked to death, the electric shocks were "no more than this accused realising what he had done and then making some desperate attempt to get out of it".

But if the boy was still alive when Clare applied the electrical current, it was capable of killing him, Mr Maxwell said.

He invited the jury to reject Clare's account that he used the wires in an attempt to save the boy's life.

"Even a person of limited intelligence would know the terrible danger, the lethal danger, of putting electricity like this on anyone," Mr Maxwell said.

The trial continues before Justice Michael Grove on Monday.

Boy Died in Paedophiles' Care

By Megan Saunders - The Australian

A SHOCKING case of child sexual abuse by two known pedophiles involving the death of a three-year-old boy and the rape of his six- year-old sister has exposed the glaring failings of the New South Wales child protection regime.

The siblings were left by their mother in the care of two men known to police as sex offenders.

A damning Ombudsman's report into the case showed the Department of Community Services had been alerted seven times to suspected abuse dating back more than three years leading up to the boy's death in September last year.

The boy, who had injuries indicating sexual abuse, died two days after one of the men videotaped himself raping the boy's six-year-old sister.

The pedophiles had tried to revive the boy using electrical wiring.

The children's mother had befriended one of the sex offenders at a train station, and, after she complained about being unable to find an affordable babysitter, left them in the pair's care.

NSW Ombudsman Bruce Barbour singled out the rape and death case as he cast doubt on the effectiveness of the entire state child protection system.

No one has yet been charged with the boy's death. But one of the men, William Thomas Clare, was sentenced in October this year to 16 years' jail for the rape of the boy's sister. Police and the NSW Coroner continue to investigate the case.

"At the time of his death, (the boy) was placed into care by his mother of two gentlemen who were known to police as being sex offenders," Mr Barbour said.

The seven notifications, including from a doctor and a neighbour, "depicted a trend of neglect which was very significant and serious".

"We are concerned that DOCS did not handle this case effectively. We are concerned that some of the decisions that were made in relation to it were made very poorly."

The Ombudsman's report also raises concerns about police handling of the case saying there was a "lack of rigour" in following up earlier claims that the girl had been raped by the mother's boyfriend at the time.

Mr Barbour called for a "threshold test", making it harder for authorities to close the books on cases of suspected child abuse and neglect.

Releasing his first review of child deaths, Mr Barbour said problems had arisen as a result of "poor decision-making and poor intervention", and he did not accept that a lack of resources was the key problem.

His report, examining the deaths of 161 children, found that in three- quarters of cases either the child or a sibling had been reported to the Department of Community Services (DOCS) in the three years before the child died.

Community Services Minister Carmel Tebbutt yesterday accepted the Ombudsman's recommendation for a "threshold test" and the need for a review of the specific case.

But: she said: "The child-protection system can never replace loving, effective, nurturing parents as the best way to keep children safe."

Mr Barbour also raised concerns about the failure of the broader community to protect children, with the number of reports to DOCS increasing by 26 per cent over the past year.

In 2002-2003 there were a total of 146,877 reports of abuse and neglect against children, rising to 185,198 reports in 2003-2004.

"Surely a civilised society must be able to embrace the concept that one of the most important things, that it should hold in regard is the care and welfare of its children," he said.

Child Rape On Videotape

Sydney Morning Herald

A man could face more than 25 years' jail for rapinq a six-year- old girl and forcing her to watch a video recording of it.

The offence was discovered when police were called to a house where the girl's brother had died in suspicious circumstances.

William Thomas Clare will be sentenced next Thursday.