More than 1,700 former inmates have reported being physically or sexually abused at the County Durham detention centre
18:00, 29 MAR 2019
THE MEDOMSLEY DETENTION CENTRE ABUSE SCANDAL EXPLAINED
Former officers who subjected vulnerable inmates to vile abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre could be facing years behind bars themsleves.
Sentencing hearings for five former employees of the brutal County Durham youth facility will begin at Teesside Crown Court next week.
Christopher Onslow, John McGee, Brian Johnson Greenwell, Kevin Blakely and Alan Bramley have all been convicted of misconduct in a public office, in relation to their employment at Medolmsley, during the 1970s and 1980s.
The offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Onlsow, 72, who was in charge of physical training at physical training at Medomsley between 1975 and 1985, was also convicted of three counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), one of inflicting grievous bodily harm (GBH) and one offence of wounding with intent to cause GBH.
Five officers convicted of Medomsley abuse, from left, Kevin Blakely, Alan Bramley, Brian Greenwell, John McGee and Christopher Onslow
They are offences which can also result in years behind bars.
McGee, 74, worked at Medomsley as a prison officer between January 1975 and February 1982. He was also found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.
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Onlsow, McGee and Blakely, 67, are due to be sentenced next Thursday, April 4.
While Greenwell, 71, and Bramley, 70, will learn their fates on April 18.
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.
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.
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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.
Medomsley Detention Centre as it looks today (Image: Newcastle Chronicle)
Predator Neville Husband had previously been jailed for 10 years for sexually abusing boys while working at the facility. 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.
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The abuse is alleged to have taken place over many years, mainly in the 1970s and 1980s.
Det Chief Supt Adrian Green, who led the new investigation for Durham Constabulary, said: "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."
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David Alan Brown, was violently abused at Medomsley Detention Centre in 1981. He has given evidence in recent trials
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A special 30 minute BBC Inside Out North East & Cumbria presented by Chris Jackson on the Medomsley investigation will be broadcast on BBC One
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This is not the end - police
Onslow and McGee have submitted appeals against their convictions for misconduct in a public office.
Two other former officers, David McClure, 63, and Neil Sowerby, 62, were cleared of all charges against them.
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