Baby Rhys: Mother's lover was convicted child sex attacker

Baby Rhys Biggs was left to die in the care of a convicted child sex attacker after social workers failed to check police records, the Standard can reveal.

Paul Husband, 33, was found guilty of child cruelty on Tuesday along with Rhys's mother Claire Biggs, 27.

But social workers failed to check Husband's police record, which includes a conviction in Scotland for a serious sex assault on a child.

A simple phone call to the police would have revealed Husband's "troubled" background, including a history of domestic violence in the family.

A damning report detailed the catalogue of missed opportunities to protect the eight-week-old boy, who died after suffering "horrific" injuries at home.

Rhys died on 8 May 2006 after suffering "extremely painful" injuries including broken ribs, a broken shoulder and a fractured arm.

His mother Biggs, a former crack addict, was convicted of wilful assault while her live-in-lover Husband was found guilty of wilful neglect.

During his short life Rhys had briefly come into contact with agencies in Camden and Newham. But "optimistic" assessments of his mother's parenting abilities meant he was never given the level of protection he needed, a Serious Case Review into his death found. Biggs insisted during the prosecution that her boyfriend was responsible for the abuse and branded him a "murderer".

Husband told the jury he had nothing to do with the child's suffering. But the report found a police check on Husband's background would have led to a different approach from social workers.

It condemned "the decision not to implement child protection arrangements" for Rhys as "over-optimistic".

"The failure to carry out background checks on Mr H was a significant error," the report said.

"Police checks would have provided information that would certainly have brought about a different approach to the management of the case.

"A number of agencies had knowledge of Ms B's relationship with Mr H but did not share that with the social worker. In turn, Newham Children's Services were not made aware of that relationship when the case was passed to them."

Police sources said Husband had a previous conviction for a serious sex assault of a child in Scotland in 1993.

The report suggested that poor record keeping meant the authorities in Scotland had not entered these details on the Police National Computer at the time of Rhys's death. Nevertheless, other information about Husband's past - in particular a "troubled" family history of domestic violence - would have been enough to raise the alarm, the sources said.

Biggs already had one "at risk" child taken into care. The review found that the "known risk factors" were so serious that the threat to Rhys should have been assessed before he was born. No such assessment took place.

Wellwishers have been paying tribute to the baby. Jackie Finch said: "From your relatives in Australia, we are deeply saddened by the passing of your short life. Our only solace is that you are now in a better place."