Oxfordshire County Council, Applicant v M & Ors

Facts

These were public law proceedings brought by Oxfordshire County Council in respect of A, the child of M and F. The local authority's concerns centred on the parents' ability to recognise and protect A from sexual, physical and emotional harm and neglect. F has a long history of concern as to the sexual risk he poses to children and to female partners: he was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order in early 2019, convicted of breaching it in 2021, convicted in 2022 of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence, attempting or engaging in sexual communication with a child, attempting, causing or inciting a female child under 16 to engage in a sexual act, and a further breach, resulting in a five-year order at the end of 2022, and was sentenced for a further breach in November 2024. M remained in a relationship with him and admitted supplying him with a smart phone without police permission. There were also numerous reports of domestic abuse by F against M. Proceedings commenced on 29 May 2025 and an interim care order was granted on 2 June 2025. A parent and baby foster placement and two successive residential assessments followed, the last concluding negatively, and in March 2026 A moved to his aunt and uncle under an interim care order. The local authority sought a final care order.