14 year old to sue council ?

[Flubflow]

She was at a Special Needs boarding school so I assume she is a special needs student. Ok, it can a broad term but based on conversations with people I know who work in the field of special needs, I can well imagine that the girl could have had no idea what would be the consequences of what she was doing (same applies to the boy). Basically, it was up to her carers to make sure she was safe from harm. Based on what has been reported so far, they seem to have failed in that duty i.e. failed in the same sense as if that boy had gone and beaten her up, whether she "asked for it" or not.
The question of rape is an entirely seperate issue which the police will surely now be compelled by law deal with considering the age of the girl.

[Russ B]

Originally Posted by Graham

She was under 16 that is statutory rape.

Sex with an under 13 year old is statatory rape. If the girl is 14 or 15 then the punishment is far less, at around up to 2 years in jail or a fine up to £5000.

[orangebird]

So, the 14 year old girl doesn't know enough to keep her legs shut, or failing that use contraception, but she knows enough to sue the council?

[zoombini]

I would imagine that the suing the council bit has been suggested by others.

Mind you, why is she special needs?

Being in a special needs school does not mean that she is like a cabbage, she could be severely dyslexic & still be special needs & lucky enough to have gone to the school (whereas most don't get the chance of it).

Being special needs may in fact be nowt to do with it & more the fact that she was a young impressionable girl.

[Jules]

How old was the boy in all this do we know?

[Rob M]

Originally Posted by whyme38

How old was the boy in all this do we know?

From Post # 1

Originally Posted by kronas

a 14 year old special needs girl who fell pregnant whilst living next door to a 16 year old boy in a school is to sue the council for £50,000 claiming negligence.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/b...ts/4111160.stm

[Jules]

Thanks

Think some people may be underestimating the care required of people with special needs. My partner used to work for a company caring for people with learning disabilities. After she left they killed someone by leaving her in a scalding bath (faulty temperature valve). Seemingly, according to some posters here, she should have known the water would be too hot.

Please bear in mind that in this case we do not know the details of her disability, the possible role of her parents, guardians or support groups in perhaps brining this case and so on. What we do know, because she was at a special needs boarding school, is that she was vulnerable and needed specialist care.

[David F]

I personally think to many judgements are being made here on the strength of a small article.From what I can see both the boy and girl was in this same school in rooms next to each other,if these children were non compos mentis then the council or at the least the school should have kept sexes in different areas of the school or maybe more supervision,if this is how it was there is a case to answer.

Originally Posted by andyl

Remember this girl had special needs hence her being enrolled at a specialist boarding school. As she was not receiving community based support then I would guess quite her disability is quite severe and the council will have had a duty of care which they may not have fulfilled. Will be interesting to see the facts of this case emerge.But not a direct quote. Beware journalistic habits. It's probably the claim, prepared by an eloquent and educated lawyer, that says that, not her.

Can't give you one of those green reps, but you are right the school has a duty of care, knowing she was vulnerable the managers should have taken appropriate action, a possible negligence.

[budwieser]

Originally Posted by orangebird

So, the 14 year old girl doesn't know enough to keep her legs shut, or failing that use contraception, but she knows enough to sue the council?

Obviously the parents or guardians are after a few quick bucks there!
She could`nt have decided this for herself if she could`nt work out the results of a **** without contraception for herself.!

[bernardm]

We live in a mad ...mad... world where just about anyone can sue and make some dosh!