Boy, 13, 'may not be baby's father'
Sunday 15 February 2009
Latest in Home News
On Facebook
From the blogs
Bahrain: One year on
I am used to endless lies and criticism from the BNP and its favourite blogster, as well as Islamist...
HIV orphans in Thailand prepare for the future
In Baan Gerda, a community for HIV infected or affected youngsters in Northern Thailand, a group of ...
Online House Hunter: England’s most romantic places
Our Online House Hunter goes in search of romance this Valentine's Day...
Roy Hodgson for England: A club of one
To argue against Harry Redknapp for England is akin to arguing in favour of bankers bonuses. While s...
Baby-faced Alfie Patten may not be a father at 13 after all amid allegations that the mother has had several other sexual partners, it was reported today.
The case of Alfie - who was just 12 when the baby was conceived - has already provoked a fierce political debate over the high rate of teenage pregnancies in the UK and the sexualisation of children.
But two other teenagers believe they may have fathered six-day old Maisie, whose mother Chantelle Steadman is herself just 15.
Richard Goodsell, 16, told the News of the World that he also shared a bed with the teenager at her home in Eastbourne, East Sussex, at around the time she became pregnant.
Richard, a trainee chef, said: "I know I could be the father. Everyone thinks I am. My friends all tell me that the baby has my eyes - even my mum thinks so.
"Even Chantelle's mum asked me if I was the father. If I am the father, I have the right to know."
Richard, who told the paper he slept with Chantelle with the consent of her parents and without using any contraception, said he plans to demand a DNA test is carried out to find out the truth.
Chantelle lives with her mother, Penny, and father, Steve, in a council house on the Old Town estate.
Tyler Barker, 14, also told the paper he could have fathered Maisie, born at the Eastbourne District General Hospital last week.
He said he slept with Chantelle around nine months ago, again in her own bed.
Realising the gravity of the situation, he added: "I hope it's not me."
Both boys and their parents are reported to have made sworn statements in front of a solicitor detailing their encounters with Chantelle.
The situation has provoked outrage from politicians and charity workers who said it exemplified the "complete collapse" of parts of society.
Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith, who runs the Centre for Social Justice think tank, said the birth highlighted another case of "broken Britain" where "anything goes".
He said: "It's not being accusative, it's about pointing out the complete collapse in some parts of society of any sense of what's right and wrong.
"There is no opprobrium any more about behaviour and quite often children witness behaviour that's aggressive, violent, rude and sexual. It's as if no-one is saying this is wrong."
Tory leader David Cameron said children having children was "worrying" and that parenthood should not be something they should even be contemplating.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown did not comment directly on the case but said "all of us would want to avoid teenage pregnancies".
Meanwhile, Tony Kerridge, of the sexual health specialist Marie Stopes International, said children needed better education to develop aspirations and avoid a life of poverty.
Society should be encouraging young people to have bigger aspirations than simply to slip into a benefits culture lifestyle, he added.
Both Chantelle and Alfie have been kept hidden from the media glare since bringing Maisie home from hospital last week.
Alfie, who stands just 4ft tall and looks young for his 13 years, has said he plans to stand by and support Chantelle with the baby.
However the schoolboy, who lives with his mother, Nicola, in nearby Hailsham, admitted that he did not know how he would be able to support them financially.
Sussex Police has said no action will be taken, with it "not in anyone's interests" to prosecute.
East Sussex County Council said the teenage parents would be supported with intensive monitoring and health visitor support.
- 1 Apple admits it has a human rights problem
- 2 Caught in his own blast: an Iranian targeting Israel
- 3 No secularism please, we're British
- 4 Reinstate Knox's murder charge, Italian court told
- 5 Police confiscate passport from Brooks' assistant
- 6 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 7 'Drunk tanks' and minimum prices to help Britain sober up
- 1 How Koscielny became prince of the Emirates
- 2 Apple admits it has a human rights problem
- 3 Spotify: 1 million plays, £108 return
- 4 Six Grammys, five years off: Adele puts love before career
- 5 Lightning kills an entire football team
- 6 Police confiscate passport from Brooks' assistant
- 7 Nauru and Abkhazia: One is a destitute microstate marooned in the South Pacific, the other is a disputed former Soviet Republic 13,000km away, so why are they so keen to be friends?
- 8 I was born to be a killer. Every night I see the Devil in my dreams
- 9 Mark Steel: If religion is 'marginal', I'm the Pope
- 10 Rothschild loses libel case, and reveals secret world of money and politics
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Win a three-week coastal jaunt
Spend three weeks exploring every nook and cranny of gorgeous Atlantic Canada.
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page
No secularism please, we're British
Working as a jail torturer ruined my life
New Arsenal face an old question of credibility in San Siro




Comments