By Stefano Ambrogi
London - Two women who were repeatedly raped and violently abused by their father, bearing him seven children over 25 years, were given a formal apology by child protection agencies on Wednesday for systemic failure.
The admission was made during the publication of an executive summary into a review of the case, which acknowledged the family concerned had had contact with 28 different public agencies and 100 members of staff over 35 years.
No one has been sacked or disciplined for the catalogue of errors, the multiple agencies involved said at a joint press conference in Derby where they lined up to apologise.
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The 56-year-old father from Sheffield, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is serving a life sentence for repeatedly raping his daughters, whom he made pregnant a total of 18 times. He was jailed in 2008.
The man, whose crimes have been likened to those of the Austrian rapist Josef Fritzl, fathered seven children with the women. Two of the children are severely disabled.
The review heard how he moved his family 67 times to keep his crimes secret.
In November, Sheffield Crown Court heard the abuse started when the women were aged between eight and 10.
If they refused their father's advances, they were badly beaten and sometimes held to the flames of a gas fire.
Sheffield and Lincolnshire's Safeguarding Children Boards apologised unreservedly for failing to help the two women, insisting lessons had been learned and systems changed.
"We want to apologise to the family at the heart of this case. It will be clear that we failed this family," said Sue Fiennes, independent chair of Sheffield Safeguarding Children Board.
"This report will not make comfortable reading for any of the organisations concerned with the family. We are all committed to working relentlessly to do all we can to minimise the risk of this happening again and indeed we have taken action."
At a joint press conference in Derby the numerous agencies involved say they were all to blame.
"No individual has been dismissed, or disciplined, or sacked. We failed this family because of an accumulation of acts that lead to a collective failure," said Chris Cook, Independent Chair of Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Board.
"We are genuinely sorry. We should have protected you." - Reuters
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