Michael Robotham - Suspect

Watching the video I can recognize some of the mannerisms and body language of the adult Bobby. He rarely smiled or laughed. He maintained eye contact only briefly.

I ask him about his father. At first Bobby is animated and open. He wants to go home and see him. "We're making an invention. It's going to stop shopping bags from spilling in the trunk of the car."

Bobby draws a picture of himself and I get him to name the different body parts. He mumbles when he talks about his "private parts."

"Do you like it when you have a bath with your dad?"

"Yes."

"What do you like about it?"

"He tickles me."

"Where does he tickle you?"

"All over."

"Does he ever touch you in a way that you don't like?"

Bobby's brow furrows. "No."

"Does he ever touch your private parts?"

"No."

"What about when he washes you?"

"I suppose." He mumbles something else that I can't make out.

"What about your mum? Does she ever touch your private parts?"

He shakes his head and asks to go home. He screws up the piece of paper and refuses to answer any more questions. He isn't upset or scared. It is another example of the "distancing" that is common in sexually abused children who try to make themselves smaller and less of a target.

The interview ends, the outcome clearly inconclusive. Body language and mannerisms weren't enough to formulate an opinion.

Turning back to the files, I piece together the history of what happened next. Mel recommended that Bobby be placed on the Child Protection Register-a list of all children in the area who were considered to be at risk. She applied for an interim custody order-getting a magistrate out of bed at 2:00 a.m.

Police arrested Lenny Morgan. His house was searched, along with his bus depot locker and a neighboring garage he rented as a workshop. He maintained his innocence throughout. He described himself as a loving father who had never done anything wrong or been in trouble with the police. He claimed to have no knowledge of Bobby's injuries, but admitted to "giving him a whack" when he dismantled and broke a perfectly good alarm clock.

I knew none of this. My involvement ended after a single interview. It was Erskine's case.

A child protection case conference was held on Monday, August 15. The conference was chaired by Lucas Dutton and included the duty social worker, consultant psychologist Rupert Erskine, Bobby's GP, the deputy headmistress of his school and Detective Sergeant Helena Bronte.

The minutes of the meeting indicate that Lucas Dutton ran the proceedings. I remember him. At my first case conference he shot me down in flames when I offered an alternative suggestion to his own. Directors are rarely questioned-especially by junior psychologists whose diplomas are fresh enough to smudge.

The police didn't have enough evidence to charge Lenny Morgan, but the criminal investigation continued. Based on the physical evidence and Bridget Morgan's statement the conference recommended that Bobby be removed from his family and placed in foster care unless his father agreed to voluntarily stay away. Daily contact would be arranged but father and son were never to be left alone.

Bobby spent five days in foster care before Lenny agreed to leave the family home and live separately until the allegations were fully investigated.

The second case file begins with a contents page. I scan the list and continue reading. For three months the Morgan family was shadowed by social workers and psychologists, who tried to discover exactly how it functioned. Bobby's behavior was monitored and reviewed, particularly during the contact visits with his father. At the same time Erskine interviewed Bridget, Lenny and Bobby separately, taking detailed histories. He also spoke to the maternal grandmother, Pauline Aherne, and Bridget's younger sister.

Both seemed to confirm Bridget's suspicions about Lenny. In particular Pauline Aherne claimed to have witnessed an example of inappropriate behavior when father and son were wrestling at bedtime and she saw Lenny's hand inside Bobby's pajamas.

When I compared her statement to Bridget's, I noticed how they used many of the same phrases and descriptions. This would have concerned me if it had been my case. Blood is thicker than water-never more so than in child custody cases.

Lenny Morgan's first wife had died in a car accident. A son from the first marriage, Dafyyd Morgan, had left home at eighteen without coming to the attention of Social Services.

Several attempts were made to find him. Child-care workers traced his teachers and a swimming coach, who reported no cause for concern in his behavior. Dafyyd had left school at fifteen and been apprenticed to a local building firm. He dropped out and his last known address was a backpacker's hostel in western Australia.

The file contains Erskine's conclusions, but not his session notes. He described Bobby as "anxious, fidgety and temperamentally fragile" and also displaying "symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder."

"When questioned about any sexual abuse, Bobby became increasingly defensive and agitated," Erskine wrote. "He also seems defensive if anyone suggests his family is not ideal. It is as if he is working hard to hide something."

Of Bridget Morgan he wrote: "Her first concern is always for her son. She is particularly reluctant to allow any further interviews with Bobby because of the anxiety these create. Bobby has apparently been wetting the bed and has had problems sleeping."

Her concern was understandable. At a rough count, I estimated Bobby was interviewed more than a dozen times by therapists, psychologists and social workers. Questions were repeated and rephrased.

During free play sessions he was observed undressing dolls and naming body parts. None of these sessions were recorded, but a therapist reported that Bobby placed one doll on top of the other and made grunting noises.

Erskine included two of Bobby's drawings in the file. I hold them at arm's length. They're rather good in an abstract sort of way-a cross between Picasso and the Flintstones. The figures are robotlike, with skewed faces. Adults are drawn excessively large and children very small.

Erskine concluded:

There are several significant pieces of evidence which, in my opinion, strongly support the possibility of sexual contact between Mr. Morgan and his son.

First, there is the evidence of Bridget Morgan as well as that of the maternal grandmother, Mrs. Pauline Aherne. Neither woman appears to have any reason to be biased or embellish their accounts. Both witnessed occasions when Mr. Morgan exposed himself to his son and removed his son's underwear.

Secondly, there is the evidence of Dr. Richard Legende who found "two or three strap marks about six inches long across both of the child's buttocks." More perturbing was the evidence of scar tissue around the anus.

Added to this we have the behavioral changes in Bobby. He has displayed an unhealthy interest in sex, as well as a working knowledge far beyond that of a normal eight-year-old.

Based on these facts, I believe there exists a strong likelihood that Bobby has been sexually abused, most probably by his father.

There must have been another case conference in mid-November. I can find no minutes. The police investigation was suspended, but the file left open.

The third file is full of legal documents-some of them bound in ribbon. I recognize the paperwork. Satisfied that Bobby was at risk, Social Services had applied for a permanent care order. The lawyers were set loose.

"What are you mumbling about?" Mel is back from her shopping, balancing two cups of coffee on a ledger. "Sorry I can't offer you anything stronger. Remember when we used to smuggle boxes of wine in here at Christmas?"