How could a custodial father do this indeed.
This article further elaborates on the UNNAMED DAD, who somehow got custody of his kids then beat the two-year-old into a coma (she just died--see post below). Grandpa is a classic--he claims that dad couldn't have done it (denial), that the human services department didn't do enough (blame), and that gramps needs crime compensation (big-time greed). Chip off the old block? Still no word on how this guy got custody, and who made that decision (foot tapping impatiently....)
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,,25874012-662,00.html
Review ordered after bashed girl, 2, dies
by Staff Writers
August 03, 2009 11:11am
Todder died after bashed by father
Grandfather wants compensation
Chief defends department
THE grandfather of a two-year-old girl who died after allegedly being bashed by her dad wants compensation from authorities.
He has also claimed that he "knows from the bottom of his heart" his son did not harm the toddler, contradicting police claims that the young girl had been attacked by her father.
She died yesterday morning.
"I know this for a fact: my son did not do this. How could a father that had custody of their ... two children do this to her?," Grandfather “Geoff” said this morning.
He also claimed child protection workers from the Human Services Department had not done enough to protect his son's child, who died four weeks after suffering serious injuries.
“They did not do enough, and I’m … going to see a solicitor about all this, and I’m going to go for compensation," he said.
Today the state’s child protection chief defended department methods, but suggested authorities lacked resources, the Herald Sun reports.
Child Safety Commissioner Bernie Geary has ordered a review of the case, and acknowledged the girl's family needed support as they came to terms with their loss. But he has also suggested more money should be spent on child protection.
“I hear people talking about roads and buildings … but we judge a society about how we resource the most marginal people in our society, and this is an area I just think needs more meat on its bones,” Mr Geary said.
The toddler died after spending nearly a month in the Royal Children's Hospital on life support. The girl was admitted with severe head injuries on July 8, eight days after child protection workers were warned she had black eyes from an earlier suspected assault.
Police had charged the little girl's father with intentionally causing serious injury and recklessly causing serious injury, but the 26-year-old took his own life a day before he was due to face Stawell Magistrates' Court.
Mr Geary declined to comment on failures of the child protection service, but said the death of the little girl highlighted a wider problem. "It's just further indication of some of the issues that exist in our community," he said. "People have to understand that these things are an issue the community needs to face, not just the Government."
Mr Geary said he would be asking questions specifically relating to the toddler's case in the coming week. "We'll be addressing it certainly," he said. "This (her death) is something that we've seen as a possibility, so it's not something that's just sprung up and surprised us. I just think at the moment we need to be respectful in the family's grief."
Mr Geary will hand his findings to the Victorian Child Death Review Committee, an advisory body comprised of experts in areas such as paediatrics, drugs and alcohol, and mental health. A spokesman for Community Services Minister Lisa Neville said it was a tragic case.
"We have already established a review into the case, with information provided to the Child Safety Commissioner as a matter of priority to assist his inquiry," spokesman Bill Kyriakopoulos said.