Authorities 'not curious enough' about boy killer
Family handoutAuthorities were not curious enough about a man who went on to murder his partner's toddler, a safeguarding review has found.
Christopher Stockton, 38, killed 22-month-old Charlie Roberts at the boy's Darlington home in January 2024 by fatally shaking him.
A review found police checks showed no indication Stockton presented any risk to the child but "further exploration of his role in the family was missing", while Charlie's mothers assertions about her boyfriend were "not challenged".
The Darlington Safeguarding Partnership said steps were being taken to learn from the review.
Stockton and Charlie's mum Paula Roberts, 41, started a relationship in early 2023.
He moved into her home just seven days before Charlie was fatally injured, a trial late last year heard.
Stockton had been in sole charge of Charlie for just 18 minutes before an ambulance was called for the toddler, who was later found to have had catastrophic bleeding in his brain.
'No engagement'
The Local Child Safeguarding Practice Review (LCSPR) into Charlie's death was commissioned to help agencies and individuals learn lessons and improve the way they work, the Darlington Safeguarding Partnership said.
Several recommendations were made including "ensuring all men associated with the family [or] adult caregivers" were "fully considered".
Darlington Borough Council social workers knew about Stockton because of a statutory investigation into suspicious bruises on Charlie in the months before his death, "but there was no engagement with him or understanding about him and his relationship with the children", the review said.
The review added that was a "poor decision" and that there should have been "greater curiosity about him".
Durham PoliceThe review also found that Roberts' assertion that Stockton was not staying overnight was "not challenged" but was "accepted at face value".
The Independent Scrutineer and Chair of Darlington Safeguarding Partnership Ann Baxter said: "Steps are being taken to learn from the review."
She said there would be an ongoing review of the "specific action necessary to strengthen multi-agency working" which should lead to the "improvement of services".
Stockton was jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years earlier while Roberts was jailed for four years having admitted child neglect.