Chapter Fifteen

Excluded

Stevie stayed in his room for the rest of the evening and I checked on him regularly. He seemed to be coping, although at present he was unaware of the wider implications of what he’d done. Apart from the effect his abuse would have had on Liam and Kiri, teenagers younger than Stevie had been put on the sex offenders’ register for being in possession of child pornography, and Stevie had actually taken the indecent images. Stevie knew what he’d done was wrong, but never in a million years would he have classified it as paedophile activity. If found guilty, he could be given a custodial sentence and, once released, placed on the sex offenders’ register, which he’d have to disclose on any college or job application, as well as it affecting his future relationships.

Just before 9 p.m. Stevie came down for a drink before going to bed and I asked him for his phone.

‘Why? Don’t you trust me?’ he asked moodily. The short answer was no, not right now. Although this was for his own good, as I didn’t want him to keep checking his phone while ‘Joey’ was issuing threats. ‘I always switch it off at night,’ he added.

‘Good, but I think it would be better if it was down here tonight. I won’t look at it. You can switch it off first and I’ll put it in my drawer in the front room. Has Joey been in touch again?’ I asked. He nodded. ‘Saying what?’

‘That if I didn’t do as he said and take more photos he’d post the pictures of Liam and Kiri online with my name.’

‘So why didn’t you tell me?’

‘He only just messaged.’

‘Have you replied?’

‘No.’

‘I want you to bring your phone down and I’ll put it away until Verity comes tomorrow. It’s likely the police will want to see it too, so bring it down now, please.’

‘But I won’t be able to WhatsApp my class.’

‘No, you won’t for now.’

He sighed and reluctantly went off to do as I’d asked. This was all new territory for me, so I was running on common sense in dealing with it and learning as I went. Stevie was vulnerable and frightened, and I knew it wouldn’t take much for Joey to push him into doing something else. I thought it was a pity that the police weren’t involved now while Joey was active online, but then again, I knew that police digital forensics would be able to trace Joey from his IP address. IP stands for Internet Protocol and is the unique number that identifies each of us online.

A few minutes later Stevie came down and handed me his phone. ‘There’s no credit on it,’ he said, as if I was going to use it.

‘It doesn’t matter. I’m going to put it safely away until we see Verity tomorrow.’ He hesitated. ‘Yes?’

‘Can you tell Adrian, Lucy and Paula what I’ve done?’ he asked quietly.

‘If you want me to.’

‘I can’t face telling them.’ His eyes filled, and at that point I felt sorry for him. ‘Please tell my grandparents too.’

‘Verity will need to tell them,’ I said.

He went into the kitchen, poured himself a glass of water and went to bed. While I felt sorry for Stevie, I also had deep sympathy for his grandparents, who had yet to be told, and little Kiri and Liam, who’d been abused by the older brother they’d trusted, for this was abuse. Whether they’d been threatened, coerced or tricked into taking off their clothes and posing for the photographs was for Verity and the police to discover. I thought Kiri and Liam would probably need counselling to get over what had happened.

At 9.15 Adrian let himself in the front door, having worked a late shift. I went into the hall. ‘Have you eaten?’ I asked him.

‘Yes, thanks. I had something in my break at work.’

‘Good.’ I tried to raise a smile.

‘What’s the matter, Mum?’ he asked, seeing through me straight away. ‘Is Nana ill?’

‘No, she’s fine. Something has happened in connection with Stevie. He’s in bed, but I need to speak to you, Lucy and Paula. Can you wait for me in the living room while I fetch the girls?’

‘What is it?’ he asked, worried.

‘Please wait until I’ve got Lucy and Paula. I don’t want to go through it all twice.’

Upstairs, I went first to Paula’s room and then Lucy’s and asked them to come down, as I needed to talk to them. Paula was already in her dressing gown, and Lucy was about to shower, but they came down as I asked, guessing it was serious.

I closed the living-room door and we sat down. They looked at me, their expressions full of questions and concern.

‘As you know, Stevie hasn’t been himself for some days,’ I began.

‘Tell me about it!’ Lucy put in.

I nodded. ‘He clearly had something worrying him and this evening he told me what it was.’ I took a breath and steeled myself. ‘It seems that Stevie not only took indecent photographs of himself and sent them to “Joey” – the guy he met online – but he also took some of his younger brother and sister.’ I paused. There was silence as they continued to look at me and the enormity of what I’d said hit them.

‘He sent indecent photos of Kiri and Liam to his friend Joey?’ Paula asked incredulously.

‘Yes, except Joey isn’t his friend. I’m almost certain he’s a paedophile, and Joey isn’t his real name. I’ve informed Verity and she will be coming here tomorrow to see Stevie. The police will be involved.’

‘Stevie took photos of his brother and sister without their clothes on?’ Lucy asked, still struggling to take it in. I nodded. ‘That’s really sick. Why?’

‘Joey threatened to send the photos of Stevie to his friends and post them online if he didn’t.’

‘Blackmail,’ Adrian said.

‘Yes, and now he wants more indecent photographs of children.’

Paula’s hand shot to her mouth. ‘That’s awful, Mum,’ she cried, shocked.

‘Stevie’s such an idiot!’ Lucy exclaimed.

‘I think he knows that now,’ I replied.

‘I can’t believe he’d do something like that,’ Paula said. ‘He seems so nice.’

‘I think he panicked and made a bad decision,’ I said. ‘But that’s for the police to investigate.’ I looked at their shocked and saddened faces. It wasn’t the first time since we’d begun fostering that I’d had to tell them something I would rather have protected them from. When they’d been little it had been even more difficult, and at times I’d loathed myself for taking away their innocence by explaining something the average child wouldn’t have heard about but they had.

‘What will happen to Stevie?’ Adrian asked.

‘I don’t know yet, but for the time being I think the social services will want him to stay here. Long-term will depend on the outcome of the police investigation.’

‘Will he go to prison?’ Paula asked.

‘I honestly don’t know.’

‘But he didn’t actually abuse them?’ Lucy said. ‘You know, do stuff to them?’

‘Not as far as I know, but making two children take off their clothes to photograph them is an abuse as well as illegal. Stevie is still being investigated for sexting, but this is a lot more serious.’

‘What did his grandparents say?’ Paula asked anxiously. ‘I bet they were upset.’

‘They don’t know yet, but yes, they will be very upset when they’re told.’

Adrian shook his head sadly.

‘I know this is a huge shock,’ I said. ‘Stevie knows what he’s done is wrong. He asked me to tell you because he couldn’t bear to tell you himself. Don’t raise it with him unless he wants to talk about it, but obviously if he tells you any more about the images he’s taken or that he’s taken others then you need to tell me.’ They nodded solemnly. ‘Don’t demonise him. From what he’s told me, he made a huge error of judgement and will need our support.’

Lucy grimaced. ‘Not sure I can do that, Mum. I mean, who goes around taking photos of their little brother and sister without their clothes on, and sends them to a paedo?’

I nodded. ‘Although Stevie didn’t realise he was a paedophile.’

‘Why else would a guy online want photos of naked kids?’ Lucy asked, amazed. ‘I mean, it doesn’t take much to make the connection.’

‘That’s maybe true for young people like you,’ I said. ‘I’ve brought you up to be aware of the dangers online. But while Stevie was at home I don’t think he was. His grandparents don’t even own mobile phones. They’ve no idea about computers or the internet. I think Stevie was naïve and was taken advantage of by someone he thought he could trust. I would hope that you’d have had alarm bells ringing, but he didn’t. He thought he was in a relationship when he sent the photos of himself, then it all changed and he found himself being blackmailed and panicked. To be honest, it was probably easier for him to take the photos than to admit to his grandparents what he’d done.’

‘I thought Facebook had better controls now for keeping paedophiles out,’ Adrian said.

‘It wasn’t Facebook but a much smaller website for young gender-fluid teenagers. I think Joey probably targets websites and forums like these because he knows that’s where he can find vulnerable young people confused about their gender. They are easy targets.’

‘So the website administrators need to do more,’ Adrian said.

‘Yes,’ I agreed.

‘Joey could be a woman,’ Lucy added.

‘It’s possible,’ I said.

‘Will you tell Nana?’ Paula asked.

‘I don’t think so. She’ll only worry, and it’s not like we have young children in the family who need protecting.’

‘You don’t think he would do it again?’ Lucy asked, horrified.

‘No, I don’t, but the police and social services will investigate all possibilities. To be honest, I’m still struggling to believe he’s done this at all.’

‘So am I,’ Adrian said, and Lucy and Paula agreed.

It was a conversation I would rather not have had.

Needless to say, I didn’t get much sleep that night and I don’t think anyone else did. At some point I heard everyone get out of bed, and at 2 a.m. I went to check on Stevie. He was in bed, staring at the ceiling. ‘Are you OK?’ I asked quietly so as not to disturb the others.

‘Yes, I guess.’

He wasn’t distraught or in tears, so I said, ‘Try to get some sleep. You know where I am if you need to talk,’ and left him.

I then lay in the darkness of my room thinking not so much about Stevie, but little Kiri and Liam. Whatever had been going through their minds when the abuse had happened? The fact they’d told their gran they had a secret a number of times showed they wanted to tell her and had got close to doing so. What had stopped them? I wondered. Had Stevie bribed them with treats or threatened them not to tell? Or perhaps, aware they’d done wrong, they thought that if they told they’d be in trouble. Doubtless the truth would come out. Pity the poor grandparents, I thought again. I knew that if Stevie was staying with us then I would need to support him, for I doubted Peggy and Fred would be able to. They’d be too shocked, and their main concern would be for Liam and Kiri. I also knew that for the foreseeable future Stevie wouldn’t be allowed home to see his brother and sister until the police and social services were satisfied he no longer posed a threat to them or any other children he might come into contact with. People like ‘Joey’ ruin lives.

Having not slept well, it was an effort for everyone to get up, and for Adrian, Lucy and Paula to leave the house on time, so there was little said beyond ‘hi’ and ‘goodbye, see you later’. I woke Stevie at eight, but he didn’t come down until after Adrian, Lucy and Paula had left. His eyes were bloodshot and puffy from lack of sleep, and he was wearing old joggers and a jersey. He just wanted a bowl of cereal and juice for breakfast.

‘Did you tell them?’ he asked, sliding into his chair at the table.

‘Yes.’

‘What did they say?’

I took my mug of coffee and joined him. ‘They were shocked, obviously.’

‘Do they hate me?’

‘No. But it may take them a while to come to terms with it.’

‘I bet they think I’m a right dick,’ he said, unenthusiastically scooping up a spoonful of cereal.

‘They think you acted foolishly, but you know that now.’

Stevie nodded solemnly, ate another spoonful and then pushed the bowl away. ‘I don’t want any more,’ he said. ‘I’m not hungry. Do you think I should phone my gran and try to explain.’

‘No, not now.’

‘Can I have my phone back?’ he asked.

‘I need to wait and see what Verity says. She shouldn’t be long. If you want to make a phone call then use the landline in the living room.’

‘I don’t,’ he said sulkily. ‘But I’m lost without my phone.’ As most of us would be.

‘I know. Have you got any homework you could finish? Or a book to read until Verity arrives?’

‘I’ll find something,’ he said dejectedly. ‘Will I be going to school this afternoon?’

‘I don’t know yet.’

Hauling himself from the chair, Stevie shuffled into the kitchen, put his uneaten bowl of cereal on the worktop and then went upstairs to his room. I realised I should telephone his school to tell them he wouldn’t be in, as they asked parents and carers to do. Using the handset in the living room, I dialled the school and told the secretary only that Stevie wouldn’t be in school this morning. She was clearly expecting a reason, but I didn’t want to lie and say he was ill, neither did I feel it necessary to tell her the truth at present. ‘I’ll phone if he’s coming in this afternoon,’ I said. ‘Otherwise he’ll be in tomorrow.’

Five minutes later Verity arrived, dressed sombrely in a dark-grey skirt and jacket, her expression serious. She had a business-like efficiency about her and I thought that, as a social worker, she would have to play many roles, but this must be one of the worst – questioning a young person about child sexual abuse.

‘Is he in the living room?’ she asked, going down the hall.

‘No, in his room. Shall I fetch him?’ I wondered if she’d want to talk to me first, but she didn’t.

‘Tell him to come straight away as I’m pushed for time.’

As I went upstairs I heard her mobile go off and knew this emergency would be adding even more to a workload that was probably already stretching her to the limit. I knocked on Stevie’s door. ‘Verity is here. She needs to see you straight away.’ He appeared immediately and came with me downstairs and into the living room. Verity had put away her phone and was now sitting upright on the sofa with a large notebook open on her lap. ‘I’ll need to speak to Stevie alone,’ she said. I nodded and went out.

Sometimes it’s obvious to a foster carer why they aren’t included in a meeting; for example, the meeting isn’t directly relevant to their role, or in the case of the social worker’s six-weekly visit it gives the child a chance to talk in private. But sometimes, like now, being excluded or not invited to a meeting makes no sense at all. Stevie had disclosed to me about what had happened; the social services were expecting me to continue to foster him, so what he told Verity could impact on me and my family. I felt I should have been included and hoped that Verity – as busy as she was – remembered to tell me what I needed to know. Had I still been fostering for Homefinders Jill, as my supervising social worker, would have made sure I was informed. Edith wasn’t as efficient or proactive and it was often left to me to update her.

I went into the front room, logged on to my computer and tried to do some work, but it was difficult to concentrate, and my thoughts were all over the place. I could hear the low hum of Verity’s and Stevie’s voices coming from the living room with silences in between. At one point I thought I heard Stevie crying – another reason for being present would have been to support him. It was over an hour before the living-room door opened and Stevie appeared. ‘You can go in now,’ he said, and disappeared up to his room.

In the living room I found that Verity had put away her notebook and pen and was slipping on her jacket, ready to leave. ‘Stevie is very remorseful about what he’s done,’ she said, now checking her phone. ‘I’ve explained the procedure: that he will be interviewed by the police and an officer will also see Kiri and Liam. The police will look at the evidence and then decide if they are going to prosecute. It’s likely Stevie will be interviewed by the police later today. I’m waiting to hear, so I’ll let you both know.’ She stood.

‘Verity, there are a few things I need to discuss.’

‘Yes?’

‘Joey is still trying to contact Stevie, and that’s not his real name.’

‘Stevie told me, and we’ll pass all this on to the police.’

‘I’ve got Stevie’s phone. I thought it best. He wants it back.’

‘I’ve told him he can’t have it until we’ve seen the police. In fact, I can take it with me now.’

‘I’ll fetch it. And what about his grandparents? I’m assuming he can’t go there at present.’

‘No, I’ve told him that he mustn’t try to contact or see Liam and Kiri.’

‘Shall I keep him off school for the rest of the day?’

‘Yes.’

‘I’ll get his phone.’

I went through to the front room and took Stevie’s phone from the drawer. I also took out the piece of paper on which I’d written the website address where I’d found details of the actor, Robin, whose photograph Joey had stolen. Verity was now in the hall by the front door and listening to voicemail messages. She took the paper and phone with a nod. I opened the front door and she mouthed ‘speak later’ and went. Not a word about how my family should cope with all of this, or any acknowledgement that it must be difficult for us. I hadn’t expected it, and Verity was very busy, but it would only have taken a few minutes.