 An appropriate adult is a parent, guardian, or social worker who, when a child under 18 or vulnerable adult is called in for questioning by police, helps them understand the legal process.Leach was a thirty-eight-year-old mother of five, divorced from her first husband and training to be a social worker, when in 1994 she was asked to serve in this capacity for Fred West, due to his illiteracy and the severity of the charges levelled against him.An unpaid volunteer, Leach knew nothing about West beyond his age and illiteracy, and didn't know what he was accused of before sitting in on the interrogation.