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       #Post#: 23--------------------------------------------------
       Couple falsely accused of child abuse go to court 
       By: Montraviatommygun Date: March 4, 2011, 4:37 pm
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       Couple falsely accused of child abuse go to court to try to get
       their family back
       By LAURA COLLINS - More by this author »
       
       Last updated at 23:46pm on 29th March 2008
       
       Anguished couple Mark and Nicky Webster will this week embark on
       legal action to overturn a care order that led to the forcible
       adoption of their three children four years ago.
       The Websters have instructed their solicitor to apply for leave
       to appeal against the order obtained by Norfolk County Council
       on the strength of false allegations of child abuse in May 2004.
       If successful, it could open the door to a reversal of the
       adoptions that tore their family apart.
       Last night Nicky, 27, said: "Our appeal will be done in three
       stages. The first is to appeal against the original findings of
       abuse - that would clear our names.
       "After that there could be no legal justification for the
       children's adoption but we've been told we would have to go
       through the process of appealing against the Freeing Order [the
       term for the parents' agreement to the adoption] and then
       against the adoption orders."
       The children, who can be known only as A, B and C, were all
       under five when they were adopted.
       The decision was made behind closed doors in the Family Court in
       a hearing lasting one day.
       It relied almost entirely on now discredited medical evidence
       that a fracture sustained by B could have been caused only by
       violent twisting or shaking.
       It has since been shown that the fracture was a result of bones
       weakened by a lack of vitamins.
       Last year, the council withdrew its application for a care order
       for the Websters' fourth child, Brandon, now 21 months.
       The Websters have now learned they have won legal aid to fund
       their fight to reunite the rest of their family.
       George Hawks, the lawyer who was instrumental in bringing the
       Websters' case to light, said: "This allows them to approach the
       Court of Appeal for the previous findings of abuse to be
       overturned and that opens the door to look at the adoption issue
       again."
       The Websters are determined that will be the outcome.
       Last night Mark, 35, said: "We had thought in terms of getting
       some sort of access to the children.
       "But now we've been told we've actually got more chance of
       reversing it altogether."
       And Nicky added: "We want the children to know we did nothing
       wrong.
       "We owe it to them to do this. If they seek us out in years to
       come and they feel we just stopped trying, they might ask, 'Why
       didn't you fight harder for me?'
       "I want to show that we've tried everything, gone down every
       avenue."
 (HTM) http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=549362&in_page_id=1770
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