Gay foster parents deny child abuse

Criminal breach of trust by approved carers, court told

Geoff Fox

Yorkshire Evening Post

A GAY couple sexually abused vulnerable boys who had been placed in their foster care, a court heard.

Among the alleged victims were twins who were eight years old when placed with Ian Wathey, 40, and his lover Craig Faunch, 32.

The couple were approved as foster carers by Wakefield Council in July, 2003, but within months they were using the boys - who all came from troubled homes - for sexual gratification at their home in Sides Lane, Pontefract, it was claimed.

Jeremy Richardson, QC, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court on the opening day of the trial, the abuse ranged from filming the youngest victims naked in a shower to performing obscene sex acts on two older boys, who were 14 at the time.

The victims cannot be identified for legal reasons.

"These were vulnerable young people," said Mr Richardson. "They had been reposed in the defendants' care. We assert they breached that trust and they committed criminal offences." Photograph The jury heard the abuse emerged when one of the twins showed his mother - who maintained regular contact with her sons while they were living with Wathey and Faunch - a photograph Faunch had taken of the brothers urinating.

The mother was furious and phoned Faunch, who put the phone down without speaking to her. She then contacted social services who were satisfied with Faunch's explanation that he had been trying to embarrass the boys into closing the lavatory door.

"The matter was not looked into more seriously than that," added Mr Richardson. "It is not part of this case to mention any further criticism of the local authority." Faunch and Wathey were allowed to continue fostering - although the twins' mother refused to allow them to return to the couple's home.

In July, 2004, the couple began providing weekend respite care for a 14- year-old boy with Aspergers Syndrome, a form of autism which left him with the mental age of seven.

He only admitted he had been abused after the fourth and final victim, who was also 14, complained and police were called in.

Faunch and Wathey were alleged to have performed sex acts on the boys, leaving them frightened and tearful.

During the police investigation a video tape was discovered with footage of the twins showering.

Wathey denied any impropriety to police, even describing one of his alleged victims as "loveable." He denies six counts of sexual activity with a child and one of causing a child to watch a sexual activity.

Faunch denies two charges of taking an indecent photo of a child and five counts of sexual activity with a child.

He told police his voice could be heard on the footage of the twins, but said he was unaware of the tape's existence.