BeCuming Spangna - The Mercy Begheshian Story

Chapter 1 : Arrested Development Social Services Interview

Newcastle, The United Kingdom.

Dr.Azikiwe's office, child protection hearing handover notes.

The African lady doctor looked through the assessment papers that were sent to her from social services. The room seemed deathly quiet as she pulled her reading glasses off and looked up at the woman sat in the seat oppersite her desk, nervously clutching her handbag in her lap.

"Mrs. Begheshian, Maureen." She said, trying to make it sound like a friendly chat, "It would seem that your daughter still has some.. escalating behavioural issues, which seem to be a repeated behaviour in these reports. Your child has been displaying sexually abusive behaviour for a few years now. I have to tell you that there are grave concerns that the child has been sexually abused or lives in a highly sexualised environment."

Maureen shook her head, "Please, doctor, I can assure you that nothing like that is happening at home. I.. I don't know why she's like this. Personally, I blame the school! They let them do anything there! No discipline what so ever." She said in her Mancunian accent.

The doctor looked back down at her notes, and started to read from them, "Mercy has little to no concentration in school. She has been caught on many occasions having inappropriate conversations and interactions with boys in attendance at the school during recess and lunch. A member of caretaking staff was dismissed over allegations from other students about an inappropriate relationship with Mercy. Is that true?"

Maureen felt nervous, as if she were on trial, "There was... an incident. Involving an old pervert school caretaker.. that the school employed and placed with those children! I couldn't get a straight answer out of Mercy and neither could the police, but one thing that I do know, is that man preyed on my poor, sick daughter. Made a bad situation even worse!"

"What exactly did Mercy tell you? Was it the same things she told the police during their investigations?" Dr. Azikiwe asked.

"Yes, but she was only fourteen, and easily led astray by that, that pervert." Maureen said before she calmed herself, "She told me what she told the police. Some nonsense about their being 'in love'. The man ofcourse denied everything, and said that she simply 'made it all up'. But she didn't, because when he denied it and called her a liar, she gave the police details that she couldn't possibly have known about him. Which ensured his conviction in the end."

The doctor looked back up at Maureen, "I know they've looked into her home life before, and cited several issues with your husbands drinking and violent behaviour...-"

"He's rarely ever home! I turfed him out after the second investigation, so he  poses no danger to our  Mercy!" Maureen interrupted.

The doctor looked back down at her notes and continued, "There was a suggestion to take her into care at one point by an attending social worker, but that was not pursued. However, she is fifteen and about to turn sixteen, so the options are limited, but she needs therapy as she has a very unhealthy pre-occupation with sex. There seems to be talk amongst the pupils that she has been sexually active for a long time, and that she takes part in high risk behaviours. Some documented as frequenting the mens toilets in the city, going to nightclubs all night, and a rumour that she is currently not living in the family home, but living with a man. Do these things not concern you. Mrs. Begheshian?"

"They would if they were true! She lives at home with me. All those other things are bollocks made up by the kids because she told her friend that our family doctor diagnosed her as having hypersexuality, and she went off and told everyone! Anyway, we proved to social services during their first big investigation, that it's nothing to do with our home life. Doctor, I've done the very best I could for my children, in particular our Mercy. Look at all the therapy she's had!" Maureen said as she nervously picked through papers in a large binder, and then handed them to the doctor.