A safeguarding report has said 'lessons will be learned' after it was revealed a man who had been living in Carmarthenshire fathered six children with his own daughter.

The review reports that children of the man known only as ‘Adult Y’ had suffered sexual abuse, which was brought to light in 2018 when another adult daughter reported that she had been abused.

Three family members told Dyfed-Powys Police they had been sexually abused daily by the man since their early teenage years.

The independent Child Practice Review was carried out by Gladys Rhodes-White on behalf of Cysur - the Mid and West Wales Safeguarding Board.

The board said all recommendations from the independently-written review would be implemented.

In a statement, the Cysur Board said: "This Child Practice Review seeks to learn lessons from a complex and tragic case.

"It is a case where abuse has had a longstanding impact on all the victims and involves abuse over generations in England and Wales.

"Professionals are still working to support the victims and will be for some time to come as they seek to build a positive future.

"The case was hugely complex and was uncovered and the children protected only because a small group of professionals working in child protection from different agencies demonstrated collaboration, tenacity and resilience, which was evidenced in the Child Practice Review.

"There are improvements that can be made, and the Mid and West Wales Safeguarding Board (CYSUR) are committed to implementing all of the recommendations from this independently written Child Practice Review.

"We will be working closely with our staff and all Board agencies to ensure they are implemented.

In 2018, a local authority made an application for Care Orders in respect of Adult A’s children, due to the concerns that she may also have been a victim of abuse by Adult Y.

On the same day, police contacted the department to discuss evidence gathered from mobile phones, which highlighted that Adult Y was in a sexual relationship with his daughter Adult A and he was also trying to get Adult B, his granddaughter, pregnant.

On June 18, 2018, Adult A and Adult Y were arrested and subsequently, all of Adult A’s children were brought into foster care

After repeatedly denying any allegations of abuse by Adult Y, Adult A and her daughter Adult B, disclosed that they had been sexually abused almost daily since their early teens by Adult Y.

Adult Y continued to deny any sexual abuse of his daughters and granddaughter.

DNA tests were undertaken on Adult A’s children and Adult Y as part of the police investigations and found Adult Y to be the father of six of Adult A’s children, but not the youngest, Child E.

On October 18, 2019, Adult Y was found guilty of repeatedly raping his two daughters, Adult A and Adult D, when they were children, and his granddaughter Adult B. He received a 40-year custodial sentence.

By the time she was twelve, Adult A said she was having regular sexual intercourse with Adult Y and became pregnant when she was thirteen years old.

The family moved to South Wales in August 2015 and became known to Children Services in South Wales in December 2016, when Adult B presented with emotional difficulties in the home and was threatening to self-harm.

In March 2018, one of Adult Y’s daughters, Adult D, made an allegation to the  Police that she had been sexually abused by her father.

Both she, and subsequently Adult A and  Adult B, disclosed that they had been sexually abused on almost a daily basis since their early teens by Adult Y.

Psychological  assessments reports completed in April 2019 highlighted that all of the children had suffered significant harm, which included:

  • Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
  • Exposure to emotional harm and neglect
  • Selective mutism
  • Signs of avoidance, low mood and separation anxiety
  • Increased risk of sexual exploitation
  • Poor sexual boundaries
  • Confusing information regarding parentage
  • Symptomatology related to sexual abuse

The case happened in England and Wales, however the family resided more recently in Carmarthenshire.

A spokesperson for CYSUR said the victims will be given continued support.

“It is a case where abuse has had a longstanding impact on all the victims and involves abuse over generations in England and Wales.

“Professionals are still working to support the victims and will be for some time to come as they seek to build a positive future.”