Charlie Dean

Victorious Victim Charlie Dean

This is the heart-breaking but true account of a vulnerable four year old boy who is brought up (along with his six year old sister) by 'foster parents' following the death of their mother. Over the next ten years, he endures appalling abuse. His manipulative foster mother fools the authorities into thinking she is a loving guardian when, in fact, she is a psychopath, and they fail to see the very clear red flags. She kills his pets and assaults and humiliates him at every opportunity. His foster father adds to his misery too by sexually abusing him. Surviving each day becomes more and more of a challenge. When the boy reaches the age of 11, however, his survival instincts kick in and he finds an inner strength that takes him from powerless to powerful. Despite his lack of physical strength, he does have a smart brain and uses it to full advantage. He pursues his ultimate aim - to see him and his sister re-homed - with tenacity and courage; causing his 'carers' to suffer significant financial loss, stress and embarrassment within their local community. Driven to the extreme in his attempts to fight back at his abusers, the boy uses forgery and poison as part of his plan. He even obtains a gun and practices with it regularly so that if he ever needed to use it, he wouldn't make a mistake. What makes this book even more of an intriguing read is the extracts from his personal file - obtained from Social Services. Many extracts demonstrate how the mother could manipulate and outsmart the social workers who visited her to monitor the children's progress. They also serve to show that she was a pathological liar. Somewhat disturbingly, however, it seems that while some social workers did have concerns, they were never acted upon. Life could have been so much different for this tragic young boy and his sister but, sadly, it wasn't to be.