On June 28 I posted a story about Hayley. She was two years old. Writing for the Age June 28, Daniel Fogerty gave us a glimpse into the pain filled life of this little girl. In a police statement the brother of Robert's girlfriend (Robert was the Father and alleged murderer) related the following;
“...Robert made Hayley stand in the middle of the kitchen until late at night to punish her for misbehaving. … Robert had later gone up to Hayley ''and kicked her feet clean out from under her so that she has fallen straight back onto the back of her head''... ''He looked like he kicked hard enough to knock me out,'' the brother said. ''She was crying then and got back up. ''Rob told her: 'I'm your dad and I can do whatever I want. If you think other people are mean, then you should see how mean I can be!''
It appears that Hayley's mother begged government case workers to remove her child from the father's house, before Hayley was killed. Speaking in the Victorian Coroner's Court, Hayley's mother remembers the moment she asked a DHS case worker to remove Hayley and her brother from the house. “She said 'no' and I had to leave them at the house.” and “If she had turned around and said: 'yes', I wouldn't be here today.” Hayley's mother described the DHS as 'a disgrace to society' and said that police ignored her calls for help.
A child care worker who also spoke with police, found them to be “not interested”. I would doubt the accuracy if this claim, had I not I attended a police station with a friend who was attempting to report the breach of a DVO. I listened astonished, as the sergeant suggested that it sounded 'petty' and asserted, 'the judge doesn't like pettiness.' Despite the judge in that case having urged my friend to report any and every breach, she has since given up the attempt.
Today The Age reports that police at Horsham admit that in Hayley's case, investigations into claims of abuse were 'clearly deficient'. Adrian Lowe, writing for The Age,
Probe into Hayley's abuse poor, police say
Adrian Low July 5, 2011
VICTORIA Police's investigation into allegations of abuse of a girl, 2, who later died was clearly deficient, a senior Horsham police officer has conceded at an inquest, because the investigation ended the day it began.
A second officer says the force has learnt lessons from the death of Hayley and child abuse allegations would never again be investigated in the same way. A third, the supervising officer, admits she would do many things differently if investigating the case again.
Hayley died in 2009 from serious head injuries inflicted by a bashing at the house of her father, Robert, in July. He was charged with intentionally and recklessly causing serious injury but committed suicide days later.
The Coroners Court, sitting in Ballarat, heard yesterday that officers from the Horsham sexual offences and child abuse unit had failed to follow known protocols when first made aware of Hayley's case, just over a week before she was bashed.
Her childcare centre contacted the Department of Human Services after the girl appeared to have bruising under her eyes. Her brother, 3, that day told a childcare worker that Robert's girlfriend ''did it'' in the bedroom and made a gesture with his hands as if to intimate a drop or fall.
The inquest heard that only one of the unit's officers - Constable Kristal Wheeler- was available to visit the childcare centre and when neither Hayley or her brother disclosed any abuse, chose not to pursue the case. She told her senior officer, acting Sergeant Julie Bruce (who was at training and filling in for the unit's sergeant) that it could not be determined if there had been a crime.
Constable Wheeler earlier testified that she did not abide by police protocols that said Hayley should have been examined by a forensic medical officer and that she did not take photos of any injuries.
Acting Sergeant Bruce, now a detective, agreed yesterday that she should have had Constable Wheeler interview the childcare worker to whom the allegations were made. She said many things should have been done differently and she would do differently if in a similar situation.
The inquest was told the protocols for investigating abuse allegations had tightened since Hayley's death.
Sergeant Julie O'Brien was in charge of the unit but was on leave when the Hayley incidents occurred. She testified that she was surprised about how badly the case had been handled and agreed with Ron Gipp, counsel for the Chief Commissioner, that when reviewing the case, clear deficiencies were found. She said that had she been on duty, she would have ensured Hayley was medically examined, photographed for injuries and that the childcare worker was interviewed.
The inquest before coroner John Olle continues.
