Convicted Couple Farnells Cleared To Raise Baby Gammy's Healthy Twin Sister Pipah Under Strict Conditions

In a new twist in the Baby Gammy saga, the Australian couple have been granted the authority to raise the infant's twin. The decision has come after WA Department for Child Protection cleared the accused child sex offender David Farnell and gave the go signal to allow the couple to raise the infant girl, but under strict conditions, as reported by multiple sources.

The couple made the news when they abandoned their new-born baby boy with his surrogate mother after he was diagnosed with Down syndrome. The public was outraged over this incident, especially since the couple took away the girl and left her twin brother suffering from Down syndrome to fend for himself in Thailand.

The furies the Farnells were facing rose to its peak when it became known that the biological father of the twins, David Farnell, was convicted in a string of child sexual abuse cases in 1990s and 2000s. He was sentenced to three years imprisonment in 1997 for sexually molesting two girls under the age of 13. Just months later, while he was still serving his sentence, he was charged for six counts of indecent dealings with a child under the age of 13. Those offences were said to have occurred over a 10-month period in the mid-1990s, as told by ABC News.

After the news became public following the criticism raised on the Farnell couple for abandoning their baby boy, the Department of Family Protection and Child Support intervened in the matter and started an investigation to ascertain whether baby Pipah should be left to be raised by the couple or not.

In light of worldwide public interest and scrutiny, Child Protection Minister Helen Morton disclosed the family court proceedings to the public for the first time. Morton explained the model they came up with for the welfare and safety of baby Pipah. She claimed that the Farnell couple fully cooperated and supported their safety plan.

Under the plan charted out by the court, baby Pipah was assigned her own personal lawyer and will be continuously supervised by a safety network consisting of family, neighbours, community members and support agencies. Her progress and welfare will be actively and closely monitored by the department, as per exclusive coverage by ABC news.

On the other hand, the abandoned baby boy is under the care of his Thai surrogate mother since his biological parents refused to take him along. Baby Gammy was given a new house recently, where he will be living with his surrogate mother, her husband, their parents and five other kids.