Five former officers at the now-derelict facility near Consett have been convicted of crimes against teenage boys
Vile abusers who subjected young offenders to humiliating, violent and degrading attacks at Medomsley Detention Centre have been brought to justice.Five former employees at the County Durham institution have been convicted of offences including misconduct in a public office, grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm, for crimes committed at the tough correctional facility for boys, in the 1970s and 1980s.
More than 1,600 victims have now contacted police to say they were abused at Medomsley, and the Durham Constabulary investigation into what went on there is now thought to be the biggest historic child abuse probe the country has ever seen,
Now, after reporting restrictions on crown court trials were lifted, we can finally reveal some of the true horrors that went on behind the locked gates of Medomsley.
Five officers convicted of physical abuse against young boys at Medomsley
They include boys being dragged semi-naked from toilets for taking too long, and being forced to eat salt for talking during a meal.
Today, the detective that led the investigation has lifted the lid on the complex abuse probe - and told of his satisfaction at finally getting justice for some of the victims.
Det Chief Supt Adrian Green (Image: MDM)
Det Chief Supt Adrian Green said: "There wasn't a regime of abuse, these are individuals that have abused their positions, either by taking that opportunity, or seeking out that opportunity, who used their position in public office to gain access to vulnerable individuals.
"These people had been getting on with their lives, what's nice is we have been able to bring justice to these people who think they have got away with it and re-balance the situation for the victims."
Teesside Crown Court heard how one young prisoner was beaten up by the officer in charge of physical training when he tried to tell him that another officer - later jailed for sexual abuse - had raped him in the kitchens.
The same officer threw rocks at another prisoner causing him to fall in the gym and damage vertebrae, and another victim of a different guard was forced to remove his underwear and "bunny hop" to the showers.
Successive juries were told how a favoured device of some who worked at the centre, which housed under-21s who had been given short custodial sentences, was to ask new entries their name, and then punch or kick them when they failed to add "Sir" in their responses.
Medomsley Detention Centre, County Durham
Describing the extent of the ill-treatment that some of the young men experienced, prosecutor Jamie Hill QC said: "There was an atmosphere of fear and violence throughout the institution, and, we say, that atmosphere allowed officers such as these defendants to commit offences in the knowledge that that type of behaviour was sanctioned by their colleagues.
"To simply say that it was a different time with different attitudes would be to abdicate responsibility for investigating serious allegations of crime against people made vulnerable due to their incarceration."
The seven defendants were split up into three separate trials, with five being convicted and two cleared.
Christopher Onslow, 72, was found guilty of misconduct in a public office, grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm. He has launched an appeal against his convictions for misconduct in a public office.
John McGee, 74, was convicted of misconduct in public office and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He has submitted an appeal against his conviction for misconduct in a public office.
Brian Johnson Greenwell, 71, has been convicted of misconduct in a public office.
Alan Bramley, 70, has been found guilty of one count of misconduct in a public office.
Kevin Blakely, 67, guilty on two counts of misconduct in a public office.
David McClure, 63, and Neil Sowerby, 62, have been cleared of all charges against them.
Built in 1960 on the site of a Victorian orphanage near Consett, Medomsley Detention Centre was designed to house offenders aged 17 to 21 and keep them out of prison and away from the influence of older criminals.
Medomsley Detention Centre 1985
The centre could hold more than 130 inmates, but at any one time it typically housed around 70 offenders, mainly from the north of England. Many were first-time offenders and had been detained for relatively minor crimes.
Inmates typically spent six to eight weeks at the Home Office-run centre before being released.
Durham Constabulary launched Operation Seabrook in August 2013 after a victim came forward to report being abused at the centre.
Paedophile Neville Husband had previously been jailed for 10 years for sexually abusing boys while working at the facility.
Neville Husband
He died at the age of 72 in 2010.
But following publicity surrounding the launch of Seabrook, hundreds of men began to come forward making allegations that they were physically or sexually abused by different staff members at Medomsley.
The abuse is alleged to have taken place over many years, mainly in the 1970s and 1980s.
To date 1,676 men have contacted the Operation Seabrook team to report allegations of either sexual or physical assaults while detained at Medomsley, between the 1960s and when the centre closed in 1988.
"I think this is the biggest number of victims in a historic abuse case," said Det Chief Supt Green. "We were absolutely not expecting anything of this scale at all. That's the surprising part of Seabrook."
Medomsley Detention Centre as it looks today
Due to the backgrounds of victims and the fact the abuse had taken place so long ago tracing those responsible was no easy task for detectives.
Some of the victims could not remember the names of their attackers, and police had to show them pictures of people known to have worked at Medomsley during certain periods in a bid to identify suspects.
Medomsley abuse detectives trawl newspaper archives for leads as retired cops are drafted in
Others only knew staff by nicknames.
"The issues in this case are time and the vulnerability of these individuals and the bespoke nature they have got to be treated in," Det Chief Supt Green explained.
"A lot of them hadn't seen the individuals that assaulted them since the 1970s so we had to use old pictures. Some only knew them by nicknames, so we had to do timelines of nicknames.
Medomsley Detention Centre pictured in 1998
"That's where it becomes difficult to turn these things into evidence."
The Seabrook team initially identified 32 suspects who were still alive. Eleven were released, seven were charged with offences and five have now been convicted.
Christopher Onslow, was the officer in charge of physical training at Medomsley between 1975 and 1985.
The 72-year-old was found guilty of misconduct in a public offices, grievous bodily harm and actual bodily harm.
He has launched an appeal against his convictions for misconduct in a public office. He was cleared of charges of indecent assault and buggery.
Christopher Onslow (Image: MDM)
A jury heard Onslow "exploited his position of authority in a consistently sadistic and brutal fashion".
One of his victims was climbing an obstacle course, but got stuck whilst around 20ft in the air, prompting the then-officer - nicknamed "The Machine" - to throw rocks at him until he fell backwards onto the ground.
It was later discovered that the trainee had suffered three crushed vertebrae.
Jurors heard Onslow also beat up an inmate who had been sent to work in the kitchens and was raped by Husband.
When the inmate said, "There's something amiss with Mr Husband in the kitchens", Onslow launched an attack and told him never to tell anyone else.
Medomsley Detention Centre pictured in 1998
Another young offender was aged 17 when Onslow "lost control of himself" and kicked and stamped on him, before throwing medicine balls at him.
The court heard he beat up an inmate who lost a 200m race during sports day, saying he had lost a £10 bet on the 17-year-old.
Mr Hill said of Onslow: "He took advantage of the power that had been entrusted to him and abused it to an alarming degree."
He was eventually convicted by a jury of two counts of misconduct in a public office, three of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, one of inflicting grievous bodily harm, and one of wounding.
John McGee (Image: PA)
John McGee, 74, was a prison officer at Medomsley between 1975 and 1982. Inmates knew him by his nicknames, 'Big John' and 'Pigeon Man'.
He punched one victim who was serving a three-month sentence in the face, before forcing him to remove his underwear and "bunny-hop" to the showers after he had soiled himself.
He was convicted of misconduct in public office and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He has submitted an appeal against his conviction for misconduct in a public office.
McGee was cleared of charges of indecent assault, buggery and unlawful wounding.
Brian Johnson Greenwell (Image: MDM)
Brian Johnson Greenwell worked as a stand-in chef for Husband, between 1973 and 1988.
The 71-year-old, who was known as 'Puppet', has been convicted of misconduct in a public office.
Greenwell was cleared of charges of buggery, false imprisonment and actual bodily harm.
Kevin Blakely (Image: MDM)
Kevin Blakely, 67, nicknamed 'Broken Nose' by inmates and who worked at Medomsley between 1974 and 1983, was convicted of misconduct in a public office by assaulting and abusing detainees, but cleared of causing actual bodily harm and unlawful wounding.
Alan Bramley (Image: MDM)
Alan Bramley, 70, who worked there for four years from 1973 and was dubbed 'Bong Eye', was convicted of misconduct in a public office by assaulting and abusing prisoners, but cleared of causing actual bodily harm and unlawful wounding.
The five men are due to be sentenced at a later date.
Judge Crowson told Bramley and Blakely - the final two to be convicted - they could have bail.
He said: "I do not have any doubts about you returning, you must understand when you return, there are possibilities including prison. I will have to decide whether that is the appropriate sentence on the next occasion."
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