BABY P'S KILLER IN PLEA OVER RAPE RAP; Monster claims tiny victim wasn't a reliable witness.

Byline: Cathy Gordon

ONE of the monsters jailed over the death of Baby P is challenging his conviction for raping a two-year-old girl.

Steven Barker claims he did not get a fair trial for the rape charge and the conviction is "unsafe".

At the Appeal Court in London yesterday, Barker's lawyer Bernard Richmond argued that the evidence of the tiny victim should have been excluded.

Poisoned

According to Mr Richmond, the Old Bailey judge at the rape trial should have ruled that the child was not a "competent" witness.

The lawyer also claimed that the trial judge had inadvertently let slip a name which may have linked Barker to the Baby P case and could have "poisoned" the jury's perception of him.

The little girl became the youngest ever witness at a rape trial in Britain when she gave evidence via video link at the Old Bailey earlier this year.

Yesterday, Sally O'Neill, for the Crown Prosecution Service, argued that the trial judge's decisions were based on "sound and reliable" evidence.

Barker was not present for yesterday's hearing.

The three judges, including the Lord Chief Justice, will post their decision in a few weeks.

After a trial last November, Barker, 33, was jailed for 12 years for causing or allowing the death of 17-month-old Peter Connelly - Baby P. He was also jailed for life, with a minimum term of 10 years, after being convicted at a separate trial of rape.

Little Peter was found dead in his London home in August 2007.

He had more than 50 injuries, including fractured ribs and a broken back.

Mother

The boy had been on an at-risk register and had received 60 visits from social workers, doctors and police.

A judge said Barker - the boyfriend of Peter's mother Tracey Connelly - had played a major role in Peter's death.

The toddler's 28-year-old mother admitted causing or allowing his death.

In May, she was given an indeterminate sentence, with a minimum of five years.

Her 37-year-old lodger Jason Owen - Barker's brother - was convicted of the same charge. He is serving six years in jail.

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