Judge Julian Lambert (pictured) directed a jury to find the 29-year-old not guilty of child cruelty
The trial of a father accused of causing or allowing his six-year-old daughter to undergo female genital mutilation has collapsed after a judge ruled there was no case to answer.
Judge Julian Lambert directed a jury to find the 29-year-old taxi driver, from inner-city Bristol, not guilty of child cruelty following a three-day trial at Bristol Crown Court.
He described the prosecution case against the Somali father as ‘deeply troubling’ and called the account of their key witness – an anti-FGM campaigner – ‘inconsistent’.
The driver had been charged with cruelty to a child under the age of 16 years, and having responsibility for a child under that age willfully assaulting / ill-treating / abandoning a child or young person to cause unnecessary suffering or injury.
But the judge said medical evidence on whether the girl had undergone FGM was ‘wholly inconclusive at its highest’, adding that she had always denied being harmed.
No cases of FGM have been successfully prosecuted in the UK, despite the practice being illegal for 30 years.
Following the ruling, Detective Chief Inspector Leanne Pook, Avon and Somerset Police’s lead for FGM, said: ‘Our priority from the outset of this investigation has been to safeguard any vulnerable children and protect them from harm.
‘We carried out a challenging two-year investigation, supported by professionals from a range of partner agencies, which resulted in evidence being passed to the Crown Prosecution Service and a charge being authorised for a child cruelty offence.
‘We accept the findings of the court and will continue, as always, to work closely with our communities to protect those at risk of FGM, and our wider network of partner agencies and inspiring charities to raise awareness of and develop our responses to this important issue.
‘FGM remains a deeply entrenched practice and we know these harmful procedures are happening in this country right now.’
She said the force would continue to ‘thoroughly investigate all potential offences of FGM’ as well as focusing on preventing it from taking place.
A spokeswoman for the Crown Prosecution Service described the prosecution against the father for child cruelty in relation to FGM as ‘unprecedented’.
‘The CPS considered this case in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors and decided it met the Full Code Test – that there was sufficient evidence to prosecute for an offence of child cruelty and it was in the public interest,’ she said.
‘The judge at Bristol Crown Court had the opportunity to hear the evidence live and challenged.
‘He then made a decision to stop the case yesterday. We respect the judge’s decision and will not be appealing.
‘This was an unusual and unprecedented case for the prosecution.
‘Where we feel there is sufficient evidence, and it is in the public interest to pursue, it is right that we put cases before the court so that a decision can be made by judge or jury.’
Lisa Zimmerman, director of Integrate UK, described the judge’s decision to stop the trial as ‘very disappointing’.
‘It is shameful that there has still never been a successful prosecution of this crime in the UK despite the fact that so many girls have been abused in this way across the country,’ she said.
‘The CPS and safeguarding services must protect young girls by taking urgent and serious action to ensure that perpetrators feel the full force of the law.
‘Where there is evidence of genital mutilation the case must be prosecuted under the FGM Act.’