17 December 2009
VICTIMS of sexual abuse at the hands of a pervert prison officer have had the chance to tell their story with the help of an independent film company.Pie 'n' Mash Films, a family-run company based in Beckenham and Lewisham, were approached by former inmates at the Medomsley Detention Centre, in the North East, who suffered horrific sexual abuse at the hands of depraved prison officer Neville Husband.
Former Christian Minister Husband, now 71, from County Durham, was convicted in 2003 for abusing five inmates at the young offenders' institution during the '70s and '80s and was later convicted for further attacks after four more victims came forward.
Last month, two of his victims Kevin Young, 50, and Richard Hall, 48, who feature in the documentary, were awarded some of the £500,000 in compensation from the office after the High Court ruled more should have been done to protect them.
The landmark case ruled that 12 men were entitled to compensation despite more than 30 years passing.
Yet the victory was bitter-sweet for victims as they learned that Husband was released in the same month that they were awarded compensation.
Their stories are told alongside the moving account of the family of Adam Rickwood, who became the youngest person to die in custody, aged just 14, at the facility which is now the privately-run Hassockfield Secure Training Centre.
Director Bill Maloney said the victims came to Pie 'n' Mash Films through support group Justice4Survivors after they saw the film Sun, Sea and Satan which investigates the sex abuse scandal at Haut de la Garenne in Jersey.
He said: "We look at the historical abuse that took place at Medomsley, but we don't like the term historical abuse because for the victims they have to live with it every day."
Mr Maloney spent three months living in County Durham while shooting the film, which is more than two hours long.
He added: "I really got to know these people and I let them do it their way, to have their say. Imagine what it is like to have been through this kind of abuse and they haven't been heard for years and years, imagine that frustration.
"This is them saying how they have been affected by what happened to them and showing people exactly what harm abuse like this does.
"I wanted it to be gritty, I wanted to shock people so that something would be done about it. I want this government funded abuse against children to stop."
Mr Maloney, who was physically abused himself when in care as a boy, took on the project within months of his own battle to find out the truth behind his sister Dyana's sudden death.
An inquest in January this year failed to rule the cause of death of Miss Maloney, who was found dead at her Wandsworth home on June 12 last year, and her brother is convinced there was foul play.
Miss Maloney, who claimed to have been abused herself in Haut de la Garenne in the 1960s, had funded her brother's film which had been completed just weeks before her death, as reported in the Times.
He added: "It was quite daunting doing this film. My sister had recently died and I was still grieving for my sister when I was asked to do this film.
"But I couldn't refuse it, myself and all my family had been in care and every single one of us suffered abuse, how could I refuse?"
Adam Rickwood and the Medomsley Heroes is set to be released on DVD and for download pay per view after Christmas.
Source
To pre-order or for more information, go to www.pienmashfilms.com.
