Key Facts
- •Fact-finding hearing concerning a 6-year-old boy, RR.
- •Long history of acrimonious proceedings between parents since 2018.
- •Mother made multiple allegations of stalking, harassment, threats to kill, neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse against the father.
- •Father denied all allegations, claiming the mother fabricated them to prevent him from seeing RR.
- •Multiple third-party disclosure orders were made.
- •Supervised contact between the father and RR had not taken place.
Legal Principles
Burden of proof is on the person making the allegation; standard of proof is the balance of probabilities.
Case law
Findings of fact must be based on evidence, not speculation; evidence must be considered holistically.
Case law
Witness credibility is crucial; lies about some matters don't automatically mean lies about others.
Case law
Caution is needed when assessing children's evidence, considering suggestibility, memory errors, and potential influence.
Re P (Sexual Abuse – Finding of Fact Hearing) [2019] EWFC 27 and Re JB (A Child) (Sexual Abuse Allegations) [2021] EWCA Civ 46
Outcomes
Most allegations by the mother against the father were not proven.
The judge found both parents to be unsatisfactory witnesses, with concerning attitudes and behaviours. The judge found that RR's statements, while concerning, were likely influenced by the hostile environment and the parents' behaviour. Some allegations lacked sufficient evidence.
The father's allegation that the mother and her family acted deliberately and maliciously was not proven.
The judge found no evidence of coaching or coercion of RR. The mother's actions were viewed as stemming from genuine concern, although occasionally overreactive and high-handed.
No findings of parental alienation were made.
While the mother's actions were sometimes inappropriate, the judge did not deem them to constitute parental alienation.