Man denies using adopted baby as 'plaything'

A teacher accused of the murder and sexual abuse of an adopted baby boy has denied using him as a "plaything" for his "own amusement and gratification".

Jamie Varley, 37, denies murdering and sexually abusing 13-month-old Preston Davey at his home in Blackpool in 2023. His partner, John McGowan-Fazakerley, 32, denies allowing the death of a child, child cruelty and sexual abuse.

During cross-examination at Preston Crown Court, prosecutor Peter Wright KC alleged he routinely ill-treated Preston, took indecent images and videos of him and sexually abused and physically assaulted him.

Varley also denied he had given a "wholly false account" of how Preston died when he left him briefly in the bath.

• Warning: The following court evidence contains distressing information

Preston, described previously as happy, healthy and "bubbly", was taken to live with the defendants on 1 April 2023, the court has heard.

Wright said to Varley: "This little boy was your plaything, wasn't he?"

Varley replied: "You are wrong."

Wright said: "And you routinely abused him."

Varley repeated: "You are wrong."

Wright said: "For your own amusement and gratification."

"Incorrect," said Varley.

The prosecutor went on: "All of this in a space of less than four months. It went from him coming into your home and leaving it dead, didn't it?"

The defendant said: "He did pass away in our care, yes."

Preston was taken to hospital having suffered a collapse and cardiac arrest, allegedly after a sexual assault by Varley.

Varley told police he had briefly left the child in the bath and when he returned he was off his bath seat and submerged.

But a post-mortem examination ruled out drowning and found multiple non-accidental, internal and external injuries.

The cause of Preston's death was found to be acute upper airways obstruction by either smothering or an object or objects inserted into his mouth.

Parts of his anatomy had some injuries consistent with clinical signs of sexual abuse.

Varley said he had never sexually assaulted Preston and he denied Wright's suggestion that he had blocked Preston's airways more than once.

Wright said: "And on the day he died such was the obstruction of his upper airways, caused by you, that he perished. You killed him."

Varley said: "I have not."

He then accused the defendant of giving a "wholly false account" about finding him in the bath and fearing he had drowned.

Wright said: "I am going to suggest this is all rehearsed. It is all made up by you to conceal what you really did."

Varley said: "That's incorrect."

The prosecutor said: "You thought you would be able to cover it up as a drowning."

Varley said: "I would be more intelligent, sir, if that was the case. I genuinely thought he had drowned."

In suggesting to Varley there were numerous inconsistencies in the accounts he gave at the hospital and to police, Mr Wright said: "You have been making it up from the start to the end, haven't you?"

Varley said: "I would say it was a very traumatic day, sir.

"It was the worst day of our lives. I could hardly speak that day. I was all over."

Wright said: "I am going to suggest that when you got to the hospital your apparent state of distress was a complete charade."

Varley replied: "That's not true."

Wright said: "And your inability then to be able to settle and answer questions was because you were working overtime to come up with an explanation for what you had done to him?"

"That is not true," said Varley.

Wright said: "Buying time to try to think of a way out."

Varley said: "That's not correct."

The defendant denied that later police examination of images on his phone demonstrated he had repeatedly ill-treated the child.

Varley said: "John and I don't have a sexual interest in children."

Wright said: "That little boy was the plaything of both of you, wasn't he?"

"No," he said.

Wright said: "And you each ill-treated him, didn't you?"

Varley said: "No we did not."

Wright said: "You were obsessed with this boy in a sexual nature, weren't you?"

The defendant replied: "You are wrong."

Varley denied he was "struggling to cope" with Preston, would "lose his temper" and had physically abused the boy.

He said: "I would give anything for that boy."

Wright said: "You were abusing this boy, weren't you?"

Varley said: "No, we were not. I just know he was in a safe and loving home.

"He loved us and we loved him."

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, 32, denies allowing the death of a child, three counts of child cruelty and one count of the sexual assault of a child.

The trial continues.

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