Hurting Too Much

We sat in stunned silence. This was a new, totally unexpected horror. I’d dealt with countless male pedophiles but never a woman, let alone a mother.

In Baby X and Little Victim Detective Sergeant Harry Keeble described his early years in Hackney’s Child Protection Unit, as he battled to get to grips with shocking cases of child abuse. Now a more experienced Harry relates a series of extraordinary cases he encountered with Ella, a newly-qualified social worker.

Together, Harry and Ella faced the horror of forced marriage, maternal incest and child slavery. As the unrelenting caseload threatened to push Ella over the edge, Harry uncovered one of the most alarming cases of child abuse he’d ever witnessed, forcing the duo to tread new ground in the search for justice.

His searing account reveals why working in child protection has never been so tough, and why we are still unable to reach all of the children in ‘broken Britain” that so desperately need our help.