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| Poppi Worthington death: Father abused toddler before death | Poppi Worthington death: Father abused toddler before death |
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| A 13-month-old girl was sexually assaulted by her father shortly before her sudden death, a judge has found. | A 13-month-old girl was sexually assaulted by her father shortly before her sudden death, a judge has found. |
| Poppi Worthington, who was found with serious injuries at her home in Barrow, was pronounced dead when she was taken to hospital in December 2012. | Poppi Worthington, who was found with serious injuries at her home in Barrow, was pronounced dead when she was taken to hospital in December 2012. |
| Her father, Paul Worthington, 47, was arrested and questioned on suspicion of sexual assault but never charged with any offence. He denied any wrongdoing. | Her father, Paul Worthington, 47, was arrested and questioned on suspicion of sexual assault but never charged with any offence. He denied any wrongdoing. |
| A later inquest took just seven minutes to declare the death "unexplained". | |
| High Court family judge Mr Justice Peter Jackson, sitting at Liverpool Crown Court, ruled that - on the balance of probabilities - Mr Worthington "perpetrated a penetrative ... assault on Poppi". | |
| The death of the toddler had been shrouded in secrecy with a 2014 fact-finding civil court judgment being kept private so as not to prejudice any criminal proceedings. | |
| Last month, three medical experts gave evidence in open court stating they disagreed with the findings of a Home Office pathologist who believed Poppi was the victim of "a penetrative sexual assault". | |
| In his judgement, Mr Justice Jackson said he could not accept Mr Worthington's evidence relating to the collapse of Poppi at the family home and was "not impressed" with his account of the events leading up to her death. | |
| The Cumbria Police investigation and the actions of Cumbria County Council had been criticised in earlier hearings. |