R and S, (Children), Re

Mr Hargan (instructed by Wilkinson Woodward Solicitors) for S through his Children�s Guardian

                  The identities of the children, their parents and T are protected because it would be against the interests of, and positively harmful to, the children for their identities to be known. I have not included the details of the allegations of sexual abuse in the body of the judgment to guard against prurience and because those details need not be known for the judgment to be understood.

i)                    The burden of proof lies on the Local Authority that brings the proceedings and identifies the findings it invites the court to make.

ii)                  The standard of proof is the balance of probabilities, Re B [2008] UKHL 35 . If the standard is met, the fact is proved. If it is not met, the fact is not proved. As Lord Hoffman observed in Re B :

iii)                There is no burden on a parent or other party to come up with an alternative explanation and, where an alternative explanation for an injury or course of conduct is offered, its rejection by the court does not establish the applicant�s case.