Grace Adeleye guilty of killing baby in botched circumcision

Grace Adeleye denied causing Goodluck Caubergs' death

A nurse has been found guilty of manslaughter after causing a baby's death by botching his circumcision.

Grace Adeleye, 67, carried out the procedure on four-week-old Goodluck Caubergs at an address in Chadderton, Oldham, in April 2010.

The boy bled to death before he could reach hospital the following day.

Adeleye was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence at Manchester Crown Court.

The nurse, who denied the charge, had told the jury she had done "more than 1,000" circumcision operations without incident.

The court heard that Adeleye and Goodluck's parents were from Nigeria, where the circumcision of newborns is the tradition for Christian families.

Adeleye, of Sarnia Court, Salford, was paid £100 to do the operation.

The jury was told that she carried out the procedure using a pair of scissors, forceps and olive oil and without anaesthetic.

She had claimed there had been "no problem" when she left the infant and that his parents had been pleased with the operation.

However, the court heard that when Goodluck's parents had changed his nappy several hours later, they had found a large amount of blood and phoned Adeleye, who had told them to redress the wound.

Goodluck's parents called an ambulance the following morning and he was taken to the Royal Oldham Hospital, where he died a short time later.

A spokesman for NHS Oldham said had the family gone to the hospital and asked for a circumcision, "they would have been advised to go to an approved practitioner who would have charged £100, the same as Grace Adeleye".

Following the guilty verdict, Adeleye was bailed while pre-sentencing reports are prepared.

The Crown Prosecution Service's Jane Wragg said the case "was not about the rights or wrongs of circumcision, but the grossly negligent way in which the procedure was undertaken".

"Goodluck Caubergs was a healthy little boy whose tragic death was wholly unnecessary," she said.

"Goodluck died because the standard of care taken by Grace Adeleye in carrying out the circumcision fell far below the standard that should be applied.

"She also failed to inform his parents of the risks and possible complications, which ultimately led to his tragic death."