Sammy Woodhouse: Rotherham rapist Arshid Hussain told he could see victim's son

A rapist was told he could request prison visits from a child he fathered through abuse of a teenager, it has been claimed.

Arshid Hussain was one of the men jailed in 2016 after being convicted of 23 child sex offences carried out through the Rotherham grooming gang.

Sammy Woodhouse was one of his victims and fell pregnant aged 15 after being raped.

She says Rotherham Council contacted Hussain in prison to tell him he could request visits from her son, and promised to keep him informed of future proceedings.

The Times reports that Hussain was listed as a respondent in a family court case which involved the boy and Ms Woodhouse was told he would be able to make legal representations.

Ms Woodhouse, now 33, had previously waived her anonymity to speak about the abuse she suffered at the hands of the exploitation gang and revealed the case concerned her and her teenage son.

In a video on Twitter, she said: "This story is about myself, about my son, about the man that raped me, and about the fact that Rotherham Council have offered him to apply for parental rights for my child.

"Even though proven in a court of law where he was sentenced for 35 years, that he was a danger to myself and to other children. I've also been able to prove that he is a direct harm to my son."

She claimed her case was not unique, saying that it was happening across the country, with women being forced to meet their attackers to share access to their children.

A leading family court lawyer has defended social workers involved in Ms Woodhouse's case.

Barrister Lucy Reed says Rotherham Council's actions were "entirely standard" when it notified convicted rapist Arshid Hussain.

In a blog post she pointed out that the law states it is "mandatory for a local authority applying for care orders… to formally notify a father of the existence of proceedings".

Ms Woodhouse and her MP, Louise Haigh, are calling for a change in the law, which has also won support from Baronness Helen Newlove.

A Rotherham Council spokesman said Ms Woodhouse's case had "understandably caused widespread concern and upset", adding that it has "already begun to review the specifics of the case".

It said: "As we have said previously we are not able to comment publicly on those specifics. However, we must be clear that at no stage has it been the intention of the council to put any child at risk, or to allow any convicted child sexual exploitation offender to have care of any child.

"Concluding the review will take time, and we are asking the Ministry of Justice to work with us on this to ensure that it is completed thoroughly and properly.

"Furthermore, we are in contact with the Ministry of Justice about how practice directions which apply to cases in the Family Courts should be applied, and we will be seeking further conversations with government officials about this as a matter of urgency.

"It is imperative that clarity is realised as soon as possible, not just for Rotherham, but to ensure that other councils across the country who may face similar issues are able to act with certainty and no more survivors of abuse have to experience further trauma."

A Ministry of Justice statement said: "This is obviously a very distressing incident and the relevant departments and local authority will work urgently to understand and address the failings in this case.

"Local authorities can apply to courts to request permission not to notify parents without parental responsibility about care proceedings, and courts should consider the potential harm to the child and mother when making this decision."

An NSPCC spokesman said: "We need to understand if this is a one-off failure or a system-wide problem that needs to be addressed, so no other survivor and their child have to go through the same trauma."