Gay carers 'are victims of bizarre child sex claims'

Andrew Robinson

Yorkshire Post

A JURY has been urged to acquit two gay foster carers over a string of "bizarre" and "incredible" allegations of child sexual abuse.

Leeds Crown Court heard yesterday the allegations against Craig Faunch and his partner Ian Wathey were totally without foundation.

One of the alleged victims, a teenage boy in their care, had made unfounded sexual allegations in the past, Andrew Robertson QC, defending Faunch, told Leeds Crown Court Mr Robertson said the boy had a "vivid imagination" and claimed to have once witnessed a murder, been subject to sex abuse and had also been kidnapped and then abused.

He described the prosecution case against the pair as "extremely weak" because of the lack of forensic evidence and the "thoroughly unreliable" complainants.

The court heard both men had unblemished records and had never been in any trouble with the police.

Faunch, 32, of Sides Road, Carlton Park, Pontefract, denies taking indecent photographs of the brothers involving a video showing them showering.

He also denies five charges of sexual activity with two other boys.

Wathey, 40, of the same address, denies six charges of sexual activity with a boy and one of causing him to watch a sex act on a video.

Andrew Hatton, defending Wathey, said his client had done a "damned good job" caring for 19 boys over two years while a foster carer.

Mr Hatton said one of the boys making the claims was 14 but had the intellectual capacity of a seven-year-old and suffered from Asperger's Syndrome and a need for attention.

"He was displaying extremely sexualised behaviour even before he went to stay with these two." The prosecution claimed the boys were not ideal witnesses but were ideal victims for the men.

The court has previously heard the couple had taken a photo of a boy in their care while he was urinating.

Social workers decided they had been "naive and silly" for taking the photo after hearing their explanation that they had used the picture to embarrass the boys into closing the toilet door, which they kept failing to do.

The trial continues.