Paul Farrand, teenage son of jailed paedophile, took his own life

Paul Farrand, the teenage son of a convicted paedophile, took his own life by taking a fatal overdose of prescription tablets.

Paul, 18, was found dead at his flat five days after his 18th birthday, hours after he had told a health support worker that he wanted to die.

An inquest at Heywood Coroners Court heard that the teenager had attempted suicide 17 times in less than three years after enduring corporal punishment and a childhood of violence at the hands of his father Derek Farrand, who was later arrested after complaints were made stating that he had been molesting a 12-year-old girl.

The inquest was told that Farrand senior, from Heywood, once physically attacked his son after he caught him rummaging through his ‘special cupboard.’

Heywood Coroners Court also heard how Paul had ambitions to be a mountain rescue climber but was taken into specialist care at the Hope Unit at Fairfield Hospital in Bury after he was unable to complete his last year of high school.

It is understood that Paul was so badly affected by his childhood experiences, it was feared that he might be a risk to his siblings.

Jessica Daly, a support worker who was on duty when Paul died, came across the teenager at 1.40am. She described how he was rigid and was repeating the phrase “I want to die”. Jessica took Paul to the living room to calm down but he proceeded to scream “I hate God” and was asking “Why has he done this to me?”

He appeared to calm down and went to bed but was found dead later that day.

Records showed that Paul had tried to take his life 17 times between February 2011 and November 2013. The coroner went on to record a verdict of accidental death as he was unsure if Paul wanted to take his own life that night.

During his trial, Derek Farrand was said to have been infatuated with the young girl he molested after meeting her through family friends in 2009. He initially bought her sweets, drinks and a mobile phone to gain her trust before the abuse began. He also took pictures of himself abusing the girl and sexually assaulted her older sister. The attack took place after Farrand had found out that the girl had been subjected to a previous rape, which had led to her attacker being jailed.

He was arrested in June 2012 after hundreds of pornographic images were discovered on his computer by a relative. When he was confronted he turned himself into the police and admitted charges of sexual assault and taking or making indecent images of a child and was given a four and a half year prison sentence, a lifetime ban from working with children and will have to sign the sex offenders register for an indefinite period.

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