Girls locked in their bedroom every night.....

If it is true that the girls are locked in their bedroom to protect them as reported, then I can't accept that this could ever be the least awful of all the alternatives. I would find it very frightening, as an adult, to be locked inside a room, and social workers would quite rightly take action against other parents who did this for whatever reason.

I accept that we can't know the whole story (we never can) but it is something that has been reported widely enough for people to feel concerned. I do think there is some merit in discussing the principles involved and what we as a society are prepared to accept as safe living conditions for children.

It does sound to me as though the father or grandmother of the children might be prepared to look after them as an alternative, and this could certainly be enforced by the courts if they felt it was appropriate.

Yes. I think I agree with you nightowl. I think a foster home would be a better place for them. It just doesn't sit well, does it, in your mind.

I think that the relevant local authority would have issued a denial by now if the basic fact of locking in the bedroom had been false.

Elena Thank you for your posts! A voice of sanity in this thread.

We do not know what actually happened and it should not be speculated about.

Securing the privacy of these children is vital.

Their safety is more important than their privacy in my opinion.

A bit late for that now, I'd have thought! I'm sure everyone in the area they live knows who they are.

Keeping things hushed up is not the way to go.

Their grandma is concerned about their safety.
Keeping it all quiet appears to be dangerous.

Some people are very canny and know how to "work the system", including the legal system.

I can understand that if it were feared the children were going to be raped during the night by this man then I can understand locking them infor protection but baffled as to how a woman would have that man in the house. If anyone has taken anything from reading about the Rotherham cases it is that grooming happens by offering gifts and providing treats. That happens in the daytime doesn't it?

Sure does, Stansgran !

The mother's very naïve if she thinks it's only her daughters who are at risk.
I just can't fathom out how her brain works

Some people are very good at manipulating others and estranging them from their friends and even family. Some people don't even realise it is happening until it's too late.

When this happens it can often mean that the person being manipulated find themselves cut off from others, and can come to rely totally on the person doing the manipulating.

That is very true phoenix

People often think of paedophiles as the 'sinister bogey man' lurking around outside a school or playground, but quite often it is the jolly family friend, 'uncle' or relative who is great fun and 'great with the kids'.

The Health and Safety Executive in Devon is very assiduous in following up cases and hounding small businesses - I am surprised they have not intervened in this case on the grounds of safety in case there was a fire.

(This post will probably get deleted too - but I stand by the word 'hounding - synonym: pursue relentlessly.')

The courts and children's services and the social workers and others working for them cannot comment about measures taken or interventions made. It is simply not possible to confirm or deny the locked bedroom scenario, even to silence media reports. It is ridiculous to assume that without a denial, the reports must be true.

It's also ridiculous to expect that no one will comment on or speculate about the alleged situation just because the reports have not been proved to be correct.

elena - do you not think that the LA could simply say that there have been reports in the media of a ruling regarding children being locked in their bedroom and we can categorically state that no such ruling for any child has taken place?

They are not breaching any confidences and there is nothing to stop them making such a statement. They have not done so.

Mishap, they cannot comment.

So any old red-top could print a load of lies about what a LA has or has not done, and they could not comment? Even if it was libellous?

That doesn't sound very likely. So the fact that they haven't commented in this case implies that nothing libellous has been printed, and the basic facts are true.

I think that if someone has presented a "reasonable" case for the defence in court, and has used (and I really do mean "used" or perhaps "abused") testimonials from a recognised agency, then then neither LA's or SW's can do much to override the courts decision.

Yes, I see phoenix, that makes sense.

I do wonder who elena is.

elena. If not 100% true, I think it is a bit unrealistic to think it is anywhere near 0%.

There's true and there's untrue. Would you prefer to apportion percentages soontobe? I fail to understand your comment.

An article can have a mixture of all sorts.