It was a terrible case, which highlighted less than satisfactory social work practice, and the death of a toddler with Down’s Syndrome called Jonas whilst in care. Tomorrow will be an important day not just for Jonas’s parents, but the social work sector and family justice system too as campaigners and activists meet David Cameron at Downing Street to hand over a petition demanding a full inquiry into this little boy’s death.
The petition will be handed to David Cameron tomorrow, 18th June, 2015, at 3.30pm.
Jonas Stadden, who suffered with Down’s Syndrome until his untimely death last year, was separated from his family and sent to live with foster carers whilst going through adoption proceedings. Arriving perfectly healthy at his new home, his condition soon deteriorated, and seven months later, he collapsed and died.
Jonas’s parents have long maintained that the subsequent witch hunt of their family, and the targeting of their son Lucas in particular, was part of an entrenched desire by social services to cover up wrongdoing – the local authority in question was already struggling with poor Ofsted ratings. Jonas’s body was also cremated almost immediately after his death, preventing the possibility of an autopsy.
Researching Reform has very kindly been given permission to reveal the petition before it is given to Prime Minister David Cameron, which outlines the family’s terrible ordeal and demands a full inquiry into baby Jonas’ death.
The Petition Reads:
Katherine Russell (Mother) Haydn Stadden (Father) Mr David Cameron
No 10 Downing Street
15th June 2015
Dear Mr Cameron
On Monday 25th March 2013 I telephoned Leslie Pollard (PFSA) at the school for an appointment regarding advice for my children and was told to come in at 11.15. We had a discussion with various school staff over approximately an hour and a half. I was told that I would be informed of what the process would be. I returned home with my youngest son Jonas aged four who was a down’s syndrome child.
On returning to the school in the afternoon to collect my two daughters, I found they were traumatised after the headmistress had contacted social services who had then, without informing me, gone to the school on that day and questioned my children who were all alone and did not understand why they were being questioned. Later that afternoon they were taken and interviewed on their own by a male officer.
Some days later I was informed by the social workers that my children would be taken into a respite placement on a section 20 for two weeks and on doing so my four children were then split up with three different foster carers, with my eldest son being arrested and subsequently charged with Anal rape and sentenced to 25 years, five years for each count.
My partner (Haydn) and I have proved beyond a doubt that my son did not commit any of the offences and each time we proved the allegations to be false, then more allegations were made against my son Lucas, even to the point that social services accused Lucas of being the father of his brother Jonas, so in fact I and my son Lucas was accused of having sex when he was aged ten, again at a great cost to my family we provided the evidence that Jonas’ father was Haydn.
Lucas has been in a detention centre since 9th December 2013 he has been assaulted and refused contact with myself and his family, again on the basis of yet more allegations that we have proved to be false. At the time he was accused of raping his sister he was 15 years old although they said that it was historic with dates and times being vague and also with no contact with the family he was all alone with the then L.A lawyer representing him.
He was told by that lawyer to plead guilty as it would be better for him. With no-one able to provide him with advice to the contrary, he did as he was told and was then sentenced to 25 years. Not even paedophiles or Murderers are given such sentences.
Lucas is now coming up to 18 and they were trying to get him sectioned under the mental health act. My son is not guilty and we have the evidence to show this fact. I am asking for a public enquiry for my son Lucas as to why there has been a cover up from the day I asked the school for support.
My son Jonas had he lived would have now been aged six, but within eight months of being in care he was dead!!
Again there was a cover up and on Jonas’ death he was quickly cremated and with his incinerated body, all evidence was destroyed, (please see before and after photographs of my son Jonas).
You are aware of what is happening within the social services and of the many families whose children are taken into care on allegations then only for thousands of children never to see their families again, it is so hard to believe that what has happened to my children is happening throughout Britain with many countries from the EU and beyond voicing their concerns of the child abuse in Britain, even to point of making comparisons with Adolf Hitler’s Lebensborn programme.
I will say that to lose a child in death, another child in a detention centre and my two daughters still in foster care with contact six times a year (to which I have a judgement that supports this as fact yet I do not get that as the social workers are not adhering to it) and all this with the British Governments stating “In a child’s best interest” is it in a child’s best interest? When my youngest son is dead, the oldest one is being beaten up, afraid to leave his cell and my two daughters are alone in fear!! Therefore it is in the interest of you as the Prime Minister to call for a public enquiry into the death of my son Jonas, and a public enquiry for my son Lucas who is in the detention centre, and for my two daughters in a foster care placement.
Ofsted have reported for the past two years that the social services in Taunton are inadequate and have failed their inspections:
Ofsted rate Somerset County Council’s services “inadequate”
Ofsted Report, September 2013
‘David Cameron is telling us that by and large social workers can’t be trusted’, May 2015
I feel now that you can see why we are now of the opinion that you should also support our request to you as the Prime Minister for justice for my family and for a public enquiry into the death of my son Jonas and the allegations against my other children.
This Somerset County Council is not fit for purpose and needs a total reform.
As well as this petition, David Cameron will also receive another petition, addressing concerns of grandparents around the country that their right to contact with their grandchildren is still being ignored. Maggie Tuttle has also very generously allowed us to publish this letter, and so we print it below:
Children screaming to be heard
The silent witness here lies the truth
David Cameron
Prime Minister
10 Downing Street
London.
15/06/2015
Dear Mr Cameron,
In 2009 I wrote asking you for grandparents rights with a promise that I would make sure grandparents voted for you. You agreed to do so by letting the media know (please see the enclosed reply from Ian Pendlington). You broke your promise only to now continually say publicly that there is nothing more important than the safety of our children.
I have written many times to you regarding the safety of our children, to no avail. Just as I wrote to you personally regarding what the system has done to my grandson, which you ignored and returned my letter.
For this reason after witnessing a child screaming to be heard, then abused in the care system when I was in retirement after having been a voice for 40 years for justice, that I came back to be a voice for the abused children and registered the charity children screaming to be heard the silent witnesses here lies the truth.
I have for the past four years been researching into the most corrupt system that has been allowed to continue in this British Empire for centuries ironically claiming to be “In a child’s best interest”.
So you tell me, where is the child’s best interest when they are forcibly adopted and dragged into care only for many to be sexually abused and starved of meaningful and necessary contact with their families, used for drug experiments, many murdered, trafficked, then when the money runs out, they are thrown onto the streets, many to become drug addicts alcoholics and prostitutes?
Prison figures state 49% of prisoners are from the care system, then we have untold thousands in psychiatric hospitals and young peoples detention centres, and now government have set aside a further 19 million for more adoptions. Sadly you will never hear or know the real truth from the big charities or from Government departments, but my charity is paid for almost entirely by me alone from my meagre pension, I also have a help line and I hear from families daily throughout this country and I say with hand on heart all of the so called do gooder’s “In a child’s best interest” have no idea of the suffering of the British children who are abused in every way in care as I always have said the truth is with the Nation.
It is time for you as the Prime Minister to make a stand to support the children and families and not to just say what ever, the only solution I can think of for the children in care and families to stay in touch is by the “FAMILIES FOREVER STORYBOOKS” Prisoners are allowed to write stories for their children http://www.storybookdads.co.uk why not the families for the children in care?
I also suggest you read the evidence from my web-page of the corruption as you your self have recently stated in the media that social workers cannot be trusted.
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2015/05/29/david-cameron-telling-us-large-social-workers-cant-trusted/
There is more evidence in the media of the illegal social workers who with false passports and fake identities, are employed by the councils and have taken children into care on false allegations. This alone should be investigated and those children returned home until such time as those allegations by those illegal social workers have been fully investigated.
Your recent comment at the G7 Summit said that Britain is a country with a conscience sadly there is no British conscience for the children and families being torn apart, with children forcibly adopted and fostered, therefore “In the interest of a child” until such time as the corruption of the social workers has been fully investigated, give the children “FAMILIES FOREVER STORYBOOKS” so they will and can know they still have families who love and care for them.
Should you ever want to know or hear truth then please read the website
http://www.childrenscreamingtobeheard.com or ask me personally.
I do not work for a wage my life is to be a voice for justice for the children.
Yours sincerely
Maggie Tuttle
We will update you with further news as and when we receive it.
This is one of the most abhorrent cases I have yet heard of, and I wish those who seek a meeting with Cameron the very best of luck – they’ll need it. I can only hope that this appalling case is just so vile that at last it will turn things around. Some good must come out of this evil.
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How sad for Jonas and his family. How sad that they have to seek answers that should be given automatically. How sad that it happened at all.
Radical reforms in child protectection are needed desperately but taking children into care for forced adoption is a step too far!
Thousands of children whilst in care are denied access to their own family, when did that become in the best interests of the child when research has proved the opposite is true? When did all of these draconian measures become de facto standard?
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The answer Dana, is when Children became big business and Social Workers and others involved in this sick system started owning their own fostering/adoption/supervisory etc. agencies; so called “experts” making ridiculous amounts of money to act as hired guns for LA’s by producing cut and paste reports to back up anything that Social Workers claim; So called Guardians like CAFCRASS becoming just another layer of Bureaucracy to rubber stamp the decisions of SW’s;
The entire legal profession in family courts acting out the charade which masquerades as justice where judges are the ringmasters of the Local Authority Circus.
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Mike, you are right! If you look on Natasha’s Twitter Flicker you will see that despite a three fold (300%) increase in referrals it hasn’t helped in child abuse detection one iota! Could it be there will always be a ceiling and despite what you do or don’t do it will remain the same? Good enough reason to stop paying these charlatans who do these referrals and invest the money into families keeping the child within!
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Reblogged this on World4Justice : NOW! Lobby Forum..
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They should just take that Kate kids that so called princess and see how she likes it, it be different if it were her children but the right they don’t take brats and that awful so called Queen. I never visit England the bring there bad laws to my country it just as bad here now because America follows sick British laws
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Odd that a judge, when appealing to the mother, had to publicly announce that the mother would be able to have contact with her child in a recent custody case when she went into hiding after the judge gave custody to the child’s father.
Judges know that parents don’t get to see their children despite rulings in both private and public law but do nothing about it. No one is taken to task for flouting the law least of all social workers who deny family members access to their children/grandchildren. Why is it social workers lack the moral compass that screams it’s wrong and have autonomy to work outside of law?
Why is it you have to go through the courts when social workers don’t adhere to the court rulings? There should be a free service to complain to and they should correct it immediately when it deviates from the original judgement without resorting to costly court hearings! A burden to the family and the taxpayer!
The social worker should be taken to task for deviating from the plans they themselves put forward to the judge but now want to change because of other factors unconnected with the child. Those other factors could be staff problems, financial constraints, foster carers don’t want the kids to see the children etc. No child should be denied access to their family! It’s monstrous and it’s about time it was seen for what it is!
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Sorry, that should read “foster carers don’t want kids to see their parents!”
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This is unfortunately one of many sad cases that brings tears to the eyes. I am not a religious man, but I might just have a little prayer for Sarah and Maggie today,
Sadly it is too late for poor Jonas, but it’s not too late to give Sarah the rest of her family back and end the torment and anguish of the whole family.
David Cameron, grow a pair! Stop with the sound bytes and do something humane for once in your life, show the rest of the world that you have a heart and justice is possible in the UK.
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‘Fathers should just walk away and let [mothers] get on with it’. Quote from a letter in the Daily Mail yesterday. Fathers have been accused of doing exactly that for years now, then they are labelled ‘Deadbeat Dads’ or Feckless Fathers. We, that is parents, Fathers and Mothers, should unite against what is happening in the Family Courts and work together to ensure that no child is denied access to their family, unless there is a very good (proven) reason why not. Until we do, the Courts and the system will continue to play off one against the other, irrespective of the harm done to the children in the middle.
When I was doing battle in the Family Court a neighbour’s child saw what it was doing to me, and sent me a picture of the ‘Family Court Serpent’, the creature that eats its tail. Coiled up amongst it was a picture of my daughter. This child (a girl) asked me to send it to the Judge, which I did, with a brief explanation. I added that the ‘Serpent’ chased parents who didn’t want to see their children and devoured those who did. I was chastised for sending it, but I thought it a very perceptive view from a child of twelve.
Mothers and fathers should really stop fighting each other and fight a far greater threat – the Family Court system in the U.K.
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This system is in need for a complete change.This has to stop!!!!
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