Horrors of abuse that shame our 'caring' professions

Full Story: http://www.stopinjusticenow.com/News_0923.htm

How did authorities manage to miss a case of sex abuse against two young sisters for 30 years, asks Michael Howie THREE decades after a "catalogue of horrors" were inflicted on two defenceless little sisters, justice finally caught up with Norman Carden. Carden, 61, from Paisley, was jailed for ten years in May for what a judge described as "despicable conduct" towards the girls. Details of the case made harrowing reading. The sadist repeatedly exposed himself to the girls and made them perform sex acts. The sisters were also forced to dance naked for his friends, their faces were rubbed in dog faeces, and one was thrashed with a belt. Alarmingly, Carden was only made to face his depraved past some 20 years after social workers were first told of the abuse, which spanned nearly a decade. The case has raised searching questions of the authorities involved. First, how could they have failed to detect the abuse? Perhaps more seriously, how could they have refused to inform the police after one of the girls found the courage to speak out? Child protection campaigners are calling for an independent inquiry into the handling of "historic" sex abuse cases such as that of Carden to ensure lessons are learned to prevent needless suffering in the future. The Scotsman has learned that the sisters were the subject of a social work supervision order as the abuse went on. Officials from Strathclyde Regional Council's social work department were concerned they were being neglected, as Carden was an alcoholic. However, they never seriously suspected he was involved in their abuse, even though one of his friends was investigated and arrested by police for sexually abusing the children.