Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
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Father who took MDMA with his daughter, 17, is jailed for five years for her manslaughter after failing to take her to hospital when she was dying
Jason Wilkes, 45, took the drug with teenage daughter Chloe at their home
When she became unwell he took her to a wood, and then to his workplace
He was trying to cool her down after she became agitated and disorientated
When he called 999 an hour later he told operator she was not breathing
Doctors were able to restart her heart, but she died later that day
He admitted manslaughter by causing Chloe to take noxious substance
They had shared a gram of MDMA having taken it the previous night
Wilkes jailed for five years and four months at Maidstone Crown Court
A father who took MDMA with his 17-year-old daughter has been jailed for five years for her manslaughter after he failed to take her to hospital when she was dying.
Jason Wilkes had taken the drug with daughter Chloe at their home in Ashford, Kent, but when she became unwell took her to a wood and then to an industrial estate instead of seeking medical help.
By the time the 45-year-old eventually called 999, Chloe was no longer breathing. Although doctors managed to restart her heart she died later that day.
If Wilkes had sought medical help for her as soon as he realised she was unwell, hospital staff might have been able to stop her overheating, which caused her heart to stop, Maidstone Crown Court heard.
Wilkes, from Ashford, had been due to stand trial over his daughter's death but today admitted Chloe's manslaughter by causing her to take a noxious substance and was jailed for five years and four months.
He was told that although there was no suggestion that it was ever his intention to set about a course of conduct that would lead to Chloe's death there were features of gross negligence.
Sentencing, Judge Philip Statman said: 'You will lead the rest of your life knowing that your conduct led to the death of your daughter who in my judgment you loved.
'That's an enormous burden for you to have to carry with you, but it is not just your burden.
'She is lost to her mother, brother and her extended family, a life tragically cut short.'
The court was told Wilkes had already pleaded guilty to supplying her with MDMA at a previous hearing. He was given a 21-and-a-half-month term for supplying the drug to run concurrently to the manslaughter sentence.
Wilkes and his daughter had taken drugs, including ecstasy and cocaine, together at least three times before but text messages between them showed it was a regular occurrence, James Mulholland QC, prosecuting, told the court.
Wilkes, who could be seen crying in the dock as he was sentenced, would buy the drugs and split them between himself and his daughter, who was not employed or attending college at the time of her death, he said.
Mr Mulholland said: 'The prosecution case has always been that the actions of Jason Wilkes have played a significant part in her demise.
'Here was her parent who in reality should have been protecting her from Class A drugs and, in fact, encouraged his child to take them.'
On the evening of July 25 last year, Wilkes and Chloe took a gram of cocaine and a gram of MDMA between them, staying up all night, the court heard.
The following day, Wilkes bought another gram of MDMA and once his 13-year-old son, Chloe's brother, had gone to bed, father and daughter each wrapped half a gram of the drug up in a cigarette paper and swallowed it with water, 'a method of ingestion called bombing', the prosecutor said.
By 1am on July 27, Chloe had started to become agitated and disorientated, Mr Mulholland said.
In an attempt to cool her down, Wilkes first took her into the back garden of their home.
He then loaded his barefoot daughter into the back of his car and drove her to a wooded area known as The Warren where she began talking nonsense and rambling, the court was told.
But rather than taking her to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, which was less than three miles away, he drove her to RK Resource - a company which constructs scenery for stage and television - on the Henwood Industrial Estate where he worked and tried to use a fan to cool her down, Mr Mulholland said.
He eventually called 999 at 2.01am, telling the operator his daughter was not breathing and that she did not have a pulse.
Six medical staff battled to restart Chloe's heart and she was taken to hospital where staff fought for hours to save her but she died later that day, the court heard.
A toxicology report showed that Chloe had 3.1mg of MDMA per litre in her blood, enough to prove fatal. Cocaine was also found in her blood, the court heard.
Wilkes, who split up with Chloe's mother Elainor Wright, 38, when she was nine or ten, told police his daughter had been taking drugs, including MDMA and ketamine, since she was 13 years old, the court heard.
He said he had told Chloe during the week that he felt 'like getting on it' and that she agreed so he spent about £160 on drugs over the weekend, Mr Mulholland said.
Her friend Tiffany East told police that Chloe regularly used cannabis and speed but her drug use had become more prevalent and the level of drugs harder once they left school, the court heard.
Mr Mulholland said Chloe and her brother had a difficult upbringing and had been living with their father for three years before she died.
He said Chloe had drug dealer contacts which her father would also use and text messages between the pair which related to drug usage were 'juvenile', 'light-hearted and enthusiastic'.
Mr Mulholland said: 'If Chloe Wilkes had been rushed to hospital after she began feeling unwell, the medical staff would have been able to determine that she was overheating, and would have been able to stabilise her airway, breathing and circulation.
'They would have monitored her heart rate and would have been able to address those problems.
'That opportunity was denied to Chloe by the actions of her father. That failure played a subsequent part in her death.'
He went on: 'It was a breakdown in parental responsibility, a breach in protective trust which should be inherent in such a relationship.
'This was not an isolated incident. This was repeated.'
Referencing a statement from by Chloe's mother, Judge Statman said: 'The impact has been profound.
'One cannot think of anything worse for a mother to have to go through.'
The court heard Wilkes had served a prison sentence in 1993 and had a conviction for possessing drugs in 1995.
Judge Statman said: 'All parents fear a situation where their adolescent teenage boys and girls go to a party and engage in drug-taking. They may have suspicions something is wrong.
'That is one situation that will worry all right-thinking parents. The distinction here is there is a share of the drug father to daughter in the confines of the home where there is an ability to have control over what is going on.
'This is a very different state of affairs that this activity is encouraged, whether one is coming up to her 18th birthday or not.'
Mr Mulholland replied: 'There is actual encouragement by father to daughter to take Class A drugs. There is a positive enthusiasm which is wholly different from a normal parental relationship.'
The judge added: 'What concerns me is an individual who is well familiar with ecstasy and drug culture and knows well fine the symptoms of an overdose in regard to MDMA...what possible reason could there have been for taking the route he did having left home to the time when an ambulance was eventually called?
'She is unwell clearly at the home address. Why didn't he take her straight to hospital?'
Mark Weekes, defending, said Wilkes would not necessarily have an appreciation of what would flow from the situation.
Delivering his sentence, Judge Statman said: 'This case highlights the very grave dangers associated with the taking of the drug ecstasy.
'Chloe Wilkes - your daughter - was a healthy, active, 17-year-old with the rest of her life before her.
'She enjoyed experimenting like many others do.
'She enjoyed socialising with her friends and a good party.
'It is a council of perfection to seek to supervise a child at all times, particularly as they grow into adolescence.
'We cannot stop our children from doing things we do not want them to do but we can offer them appropriate examples and cornerstones in our behaviour.
'You bought ecstasy.
'You had the money to buy it. She did not.
'You supplied the drug to her. She was in your charge.
'You encouraged her to do what she did.
'There is nothing in your conduct that night which points to any form of discouragement given to her. Far from it. You encouraged her to do as she did, wanting to join in with her.
'It is something that would be understandable if you were two people out as adolescents but this is a massive responsibility that parenting brings with it.
'Further more you knew what the risks were for you were no stranger to this particular drug. You knew what the signs of overdose would be for all of those present who have swallowed ecstasy.'
Speaking after today's hearing, Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Richard Vickery of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate said: 'This has been a tragic case for all those involved. A young life has been needlessly lost.
'Chloe's consumption of class A drugs was no doubt influenced and indeed encouraged by the defendant, her father, Jason Wilkes. His behaviour in this regard as a parent would seem incomprehensible.
'This case also highlights the acute dangers of taking any drug, and in particular class A drugs. I would encourage anyone involved in drug misuse to seek help. Meanwhile, Kent Police will continue to robustly pursue those that provide drugs within our communities.'
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...hospital-just-three-miles-away-began-die.html
The father of the year award goes to this douche bag
