A 13-month-old baby showed clear signs of sexual abuse in the days before he died, a court heard today. A senior paediatrician told jurors that the toddler had suffered internal and external injuries to his pelvic area that were 'consistent with sexual assault'.
Jamie Varley, 37, and his partner John McGowan-Fazackerly, 32, are accused of a catalogue of horrific offences against Preston, known as Elijah while in their care, as they prepared to adopt him. The child was rushed to Blackpool Victoria Hospital on July 27, 2023, but could not be saved.
Doctors found around 30 bruises on his body, and the court was told that images recovered from the couple's devices showed an 'unusual and concerning' focus on the baby's genitals.
Dr Sarah Gifford added that, in isolation, she would not be concerned about a nude video of a baby playing, as this is common in a family, but she was concerned that there were clinical signs of sexual abuse on more than one occasion.
Jurors were also shown a photograph taken four days before Preston's death, in which the toddler was slumped over the bars of his cot with blue lips. Dr Gifford said the position was 'not natural sleep' and posed an immediate risk to his airway.
'Even allowing for the possibility of extreme fatigue due to sleep deprivation, in my opinion he has not naturally fallen asleep in this position,' she said, adding, 'My main concern is that the horizontal top bar of the cot is over his neck and that poses a risk to his airway.'
Peter Wright KC, prosecuting, asked the doctor about the fracture to Preston's left elbow, suggesting the cause of the injury could have been abuse. In babies under 18 months, fractures are more likely to be inflicted, she answered.
'Whilst a small number of bruises to the shins and head may be expected in a child this age learning to walk, it's not in any way clinically plausible that all these bruises could happen in a domestic circumstance, even allowing for if he had been left unsupervised or handled roughly,' Dr Gifford said.
On Wednesday, expert witness Dr Alison Armour told the court that an autopsy she carried out on Preston determined the cause of his death to be acute upper airways obstruction, caused by either smothering or an object being inserted into his mouth.
The forensic Home Office pathologist also noted the post-mortem revealed more than 40 separate internal and external injuries and, when asked to review several videos and photographs taken from the defendants' mobile phones, highlighted a photo, taken on June 12, 2023, showing the baby playing naked in a paddling pool in the back garden of their home on Staining Avenue, Preston.
A close-up of the image showed a round bruise, approximately one inch in diameter, on the little boy's right buttock.
'It is my view that this most likely represents a human bite mark,' Dr Armour said, referring to an unmarked area of skin in the middle of the circular mark.
