Injuries sustained by a 13-month-old baby who later died were 'highly indicative of sexual trauma', a jury has been told. Preston Davey was rushed to hospital unresponsive by his adopted parents, Jamie Varley, 37, and John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, who are on trial at Preston Crown Court accused of sexually abusing and murdering the child.
Details of the Incident
Varley told police he had left the child in the bath for three or four minutes and returned to find him submerged in the water. Medics worked for nearly an hour trying to resuscitate the child before he was declared dead at Blackpool Victoria Hospital at 7.18pm on July 27, 2023. A post mortem showed the child had suffered around 40 injuries, including 30 external bruises, a fracture to his upper left arm, and internal bruising to his throat, bottom, and bladder.
Expert Testimony
Dr Joanne Gifford, a child safeguarding expert with 20 years of expertise in cases of suspected child sexual abuse, provided a professional opinion to Blackpool Police. She produced a detailed report on November 10, 2025. Dr Gifford stated that the injuries Preston suffered were consistent with child abuse. The jury was told there were three occasions where health services were contacted regarding breathing difficulties or loss of consciousness: on May 11, May 25, and June 30, 2023.
Dr Gifford reviewed photos and videos recovered from the defendants' phones, showing Preston in a 'critical condition' on three previous occasions. These included a video from June 15 showing Preston appearing unwell, still photos from July 23 showing him unresponsive over the bars of his cot, and a video from July 27, about an hour and 45 minutes before he was taken to hospital, showing him 'in extreme clinical distress'. Dr Gifford said: 'Clinically I see that video and want to resuscitate him immediately. He is pre terminal. His breathing pattern is a very, very poor sign of his wellbeing. He is a child in that video who needs to be resuscitated.'
Evidence of Abuse
Referring to the injuries, Dr Gifford noted that fractures are more likely to be inflicted, and those to the humerus are indicative of non-accidental injury. She stated: 'Whilst a small number of bruises to the shins and head may be expected in a child this age learning to walk, it's not in any way clinically plausible that all these bruises could happen in a domestic circumstance, even allowing for if he had been left unsupervised or handled roughly.'
The jury was also shown videos indicating emotional abuse, including Varley scaring Preston by shouting 'boo', keeping the baby awake, and unusual eye movements when spun in a playground toy. A 14-minute video showed Preston being left alone in the bath. Dr Gifford said: 'I thought these videos showed unpleasant experiences for Preston and a lack of appropriate caregiver response to the child. They are hard videos to watch, they are a child having unpleasant experiences. I also note he is a child who was placed for adoption.'
Charges
During the four months Preston was under adoption at the defendants' Blackpool home, it is alleged he was routinely ill-treated, had indecent images and videos taken of him, was sexually abused, and physically assaulted. Varley denies murder, manslaughter, 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 denies allowing the death of a child, three counts of child cruelty, and one count of sexual assault of a child.
