Caitlin Sharp: Vulnerable girl found dead at man's home

Caitlin Sharp was pronounced brain dead in hospital in June 2019

A severely epileptic teenager was found unconscious at the home of a man who was on police bail with a condition not to have any contact with her.

Caitlin Sharp, 17, was pronounced brain dead in hospital in June 2019.

At the time, she was in the care of Worcestershire social services and a serious case review said she had not been protected from sexual exploitation by several men.

The safeguarding children partnership said improvements had since been made.

Caitlin had severe epilepsy from birth and the review, following her death, found she had not collected her medication for five months.

Her fits lasted up to seven minutes and rescue medication had to be given.

Caitlin, pictured here as a child, was diagnosed with severe epilepsy soon after birth and relied on medication

As a result of the fits earlier in her life, she struggled with her emotions and professionals were concerned about her mental capacity, the report said. At 15 she was taken into care.

A child safeguarding practice review identified that she had gone missing 36 times while in care. She was also using cannabis which triggered her seizures and was possibly also involved with heroin.

There were concerns too about relationships with a number of older men and the risk of her being criminally and sexually exploited.

At 15, she reported becoming pregnant and later, that she had had sex with several men and needed medical attention for bleeding.

'I trusted them'

Her mother, Michelle Doe, was not kept properly informed despite having shared care.

She said: "I trusted them to look after her. I put my little girl in their hands and it wasn't just about her dying, but it's about what she went through that I find hard to deal with."

Caitlin was moved to a flat in Kidderminster to live independently - away from her family in Malvern.

Caitlin's family - she is seen here with her mother - did not believe she was capable of living independently

Neither the family nor her epilepsy nurse believed that she was capable of independent living and this was also the conclusion of the safeguarding review.

The review stated she claimed to have been assaulted and that she did not feel safe and hated living independently - on one occasion when she absconded, the police took her back.

Eventually, in March 2019, she declared herself homeless as a cry for help. The report said her voice could not have been stronger at this point.

The safeguarding investigation also found that there was one man whose influence over Caitlin could not be underestimated.

Richard Gordon-Farleigh had set up fake media accounts to speak to Caitlin. In May, 2019, West Mercia Police began an investigation into him after he placed several thousand pounds into her bank account.

Tributes to Caitlin were left following her death

He was released on police bail, but a condition of this was that he was not to have any contact with her. However, the safeguarding review concluded that the police bail was ineffectual.

The following month, Caitlin was found in Mr Gordon-Farleigh's house following a fit. Her mother was later told she had stopped breathing for seven minutes and that although paramedics resuscitated her, she was declared brain dead in hospital.

Her family took the difficult decision to switch off life support and donate her organs to save others.

Sexual exploitation

After Caitlin's death, large amounts of her epilepsy medication were found. She had also failed to collect her prescriptions for five months.

The safeguarding report concluded that the Looked After Child (LAC) meetings concentrated on her independence, rather than whether she was capable, or the risks she faced from sexual exploitation.

It had been up to the LAC chair to "pull the concerns together and address the apparent drift".

Recommendations included continuity of health input which should ideally be performed by the LAC nurse which, at times, was missing.

Ms Doe said: "If this had happened and I had been looking after her, I would be facing prosecution for neglecting her. This is a service that is supposed to look after children and they didn't do their job."

The report into Caitlin's death was published in June.

The independent review found not enough emphasis was placed on the risks Caitlin faced

Worcestershire Safeguarding Children Partnership said in the two years since Caitlin's death, agencies across the county had "worked hard to deliver service improvements".

"Our approach to identifying and managing those young people who are at risk of, or being exploited, has undergone a complete transformation.

"We will continue to work hard to improve how we safeguard our children and young people within Worcestershire."

West Mercia Police obtained a sexual restraint order against Mr Gordon-Farleigh after Caitlin's death and said that in future cases, it would apply for a sexual restraint order at the same time as conducting criminal investigations.

Denied wrongdoing

Worcestershire County Council declined to comment beyond the findings of the review.

Mr Gordon-Farleigh denied any wrongdoing and said he had strongly advised Caitlin to take her medication.

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He said that the fake social media accounts were necessary so that she could talk with him about her depression and that he gave her money, because her allowances were being withheld.

He said Caitlin would come to him for help because her housing placements were unsafe places, but denied any sexual involvement with her. He said he only accepted the sexual risk order because fighting it was damaging his health.