A secondary school teacher in the UK has been found guilty of the murder and sexual abuse of a 13-month-old baby he treated as a “plaything”. Jamie Varley, 37, adopted Preston Davey, at nine months old with his partner John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32. Preston had been taken from his mother, Sarah Davey, now 42, by an emergency care order by Oldham Council. When she was 14 years old, Davey had been jailed for the “unspeakably wicked” murder of a frail pensioner in 1998 and had been in and out of prison since then. Varley and McGowan-Fazakerley were approved for adoption and at nine months old Preston began living at their home in Blackpool, England, in April 2023. But in the just under four months he was in their care, he was routinely ill-treated, had indecent images and videos taken of him, sexually abused and physically assaulted, suffering 40 traumatic injuries, the defendants’ trial at Preston Crown Court has heard. Following an eight-week trial, a jury spent around 14 hours considering verdicts before it returned to court to deliver verdicts. Varley was found guilty of murder, two counts of assault by penetration, five counts of cruelty to a child, grievous bodily harm, sexual assault of a child, 13 counts of taking indecent photos or videos of a child, one of distributing an indecent photo of a child, to his co-accused, and one of making an indecent photo. McGowan-Fazakerley was found guilty of allowing the death of a child, two counts of child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child. Varley stood in the dock and put his hands to his face as the guilty verdicts were read, before retching and vomiting. His co-accused made no reaction. Preston’s mother and grandmother cried throughout as the 29 guilty verdicts were returned. Both defendants will not be sentenced today and Mr Justice Turner said he will pass sentence on Thursday. (RTE Ireland) The post UK teacher found guilty of murder and sexual abuse of adopted baby appeared first on Newswire.
