Centre abuse claims now total 140

January 27, 2014 11:30 am

A police investigation into a young offenders' centre has now heard claims from more than 140 people that they were abused between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s.

Police have heard claims from more than 140 people that they were abused between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s at Medomsley Detention Centre, near Consett, County Durham

Detectives announced in August they were starting a new investigation into allegations young men sent to Medomsley Detention Centre near Consett, County Durham, were abused by staff, which led to 83 people coming forward.

That number has now increased to 143 and police chiefs said detectives were left shaken by some of the accounts they heard.

Detective Superintendent Paul Goundry, of Durham Constabulary, said: "We said from the outset this was going to be a long and complex investigation which we fully expect will last at least another 12 months.

"So far we have been contacted by more than 140 former inmates of Medomsley, who have reported they were victims of either sexual or physical abuse at the centre between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s.

"The accounts we have heard have been horrific and have shaken some very experienced detectives who are working on this.

"It is obviously distressing to hear from so many victims, but at the same time I am relieved they have shown the confidence in us to get in touch and allow us to help them.

"Our efforts are directed not just at establishing what happened in Medomsley over that period but ensuring the victims are left in a better place and get the support and advice they need."

In 2003, a previous police investigation called Operation Halter led to the conviction of Neville Husband, a prison officer at the centre.

Husband was initially jailed for eight years after being found guilty of abusing five youngsters.

The publicity surrounding the trial then led to others coming forward and Husband was subsequently jailed for a further two years for these attacks.

After being released from prison he died from natural causes in 2010.

Source

Medomsley abuse school under the spotlight

27 Jan 2014 10:35

The Medomsley abuse scandal will be the subject of a BBC documentary aired tonight

Superintendent Paul Goundry who is leading the investigation

The abuse scandal at Medomsley juvenile detention centre will tonight form the focus of a BBC documentary which scrutinises the 140 latest allegations made by former inmates.

Inside Out will detail fresh claims of sexual and physical abuse at the former detention centre following Durham Police’s re-opening of their investigation last autumn.

In 2003 prison officer Neville Husband was jailed for sexually abusing inmates at the centre, which was notorious for its short, sharp shock treatment in the 1970s-1980s and closed in 1988. Then Leslie Johnson, a store man, was jailed for similar offences in 2005. Both men have since died.

The police investigation was re-opened following new allegations from ex-inmates in the wake of the publicity over their trials.

In tonight’s programme, which begins on BBC1 at 7.30pm, film-makers speak to three victims of the alleged abuse and interview Superintendent Paul Goundry who is leading the investigation. Sir Martin Narey, former director general of the prison service who was in post when Husband’s crimes came to light, apologises in the programme for Husband’s abuse going undetected so long.

Ex-governor Tim Newell, who was in charge at Medomsley for part of the time of the original abuse, declined to appear on film but said in a statement to the BBC team he was “very sad about the pain brought about by his staff”.

Tonight’s Inside Out will also be available on iPlayer for the next seven days.

Source

My months of horror at Medomsley Detention Centre at the hands of sexual predator Neville Husband

 

1:00am Monday 27th January 2014 in  

News By Gavin Engelbrecht

 

John McCabe 

 

MEDOMSLEY Detention Centre, near Consett, was supposed to help young people to rejoin society as well-balanced, law-abiding individuals. Instead, youths were physically and sexually abused. Gavin Engelbrecht reports.
 
WHEN John McCabe arrived at a new detention centre as a young tearaway teenager he was eager to get a job in the kitchens.

Faced with an unusually long six-month stretch in what was otherwise supposed to be a “short, sharp shock”, he thought it would make his time go quicker.

But, in an awful irony, his decision placed him in the clutches of the prolific sexual predator Neville Husband, who was an officer at the centre.

The 17-year-old faced daily abuse by the officer during his time at Medomsley Detention Centre, near Consett Durham – and a life sentence of guilt and shame for something which was not his fault.

The father-of-three of East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, said: “I was told it was a tough detention centre, but it never bother me I had been in tougher places.

“When I first saw Husband he looked a cheerful man – laughing and joking with everyone.

“On my first day in the kitchen I was rolling dough when he told me I wasn’t doing it right and came up behind me and grabbed my hands with the rolling pin and pressed himself right up against me.

Related links

• Medomsley Detention Centre sex abuse victim…

“I got the fright of my life and jumped back . . .and he did. He never said anything and just walked away.”

Mr McCabe said Husband later held a knife to his throat and said "you’ll never refuse me again”. The following day he says he was raped. Afterwards, Husband handed him a bag of cakes.

The terrified youth says Husband used intimidation to make him keep quiet: “I did not believe I would get out of Medomsley alive. He once told me “I could kill you and put you in one of these boxes and bury you and nobody would know”.”

The abuse continued almost daily, both in the centre and off the premises – once by another man, who has not been brought to justice, said Mr McCabe.

Today he cannot understand why other staff did not have suspicions or raise concerns. "They wouldn’t allow searches of the kitchen which was being used by Husband to distribute contraband alcohol and cigarettes.

“And within weeks of arriving at the centre I was upgraded to a red tie, which classed me as a trusted trainee.

“It was which was strange because it was on my record that I was an escapee and had done a runner, but, for some unknown reason, that was overlooked.”

In the depths of depression, Mr McCabe stopped writing to his mother.

He said: “When Husband took me to the priest I feared I was going to get abused by him as well.

“But I was wrong. The priest just wanted to see me because my mother had called and she was concerned I was not writing.

“After that Husband would call me to his office and sit there while I wrote her a letters. He would read every one before posting them.”

Mr McCabe received two months remission. The abuse he suffered had terrible repercussions when he got out. "I felt guilty," he explained. "I would attack groups of four people just to prove I was a guy.

“I got myself into so much trouble with police and authority and was involved in prison riots.

“One thing I was never going to do was go to the police about the abuse, because I didn’t think they would believe me."

In 2003, Husband was sentenced to ten years in jail for raping several teenagers and after his release died of natural causes at his home in nearby Shotley Bridge in 2010.

Mr McCabe happened on his tormentor again by chance while carrying out online research for work in 2009.

He said: “The adverts were rolling when all of a sudden I saw Husband’s face pop up. I slammed the laptop closed and almost fell off my chair. My heart was going like anything.

“When I later typed his name I couldn’t believe what came up (about his convictions) or that nobody had contacted me, when I had lived that shame and guilt all those years.

“I was going to leave it there, but my conscience got to me about other guy who has not been charged.
“I thought what would happen if I saw a year later he was being prosecuted for more abuse and so contacted the police.”

He added: “Detective Sergeant Wayne Barrigan of Durham Police came to speak to me he was really nice. He calmed me and helped me through the interview.

“He asked what counselling I was getting I said none and I didn’t think any other victims were. What happened after the interview was the pinnacle for Durham Police. He arranged off his own back for me to see a psychiatrist.”

Months after reporting the matter, Mr McCabe mustered up the courage to tell his wife about the abuse for the first time.

He said: “It was really difficult, but when I told her she turned around and said “I knew something had happened”. She just didn’t know what it was.”

Mr McCabe praised Durham Police for the network of support ithad put in place for the latest victims to come forward.

He said: “Everything they are doing is victims focussed. They have done so much for the other victims and it means a lot me. That comes even above prosecutions.”

“When you look at the network of help they have put in place it is totally unbelievable.”

Mr McCabe said he had stopped seeing a psychiatrist and would only go back once the investigation was complete.

He said: “I support Durham Constabulary 100 per cent, whatever the outcome When it is over will go see psychiatrist – not until then. Only then will I hopefully get some closure.”

Anyone with information can call the police on 101, visit a page set up on durham.police.uk or call The Meadows on 0191-301-8554, or in crisis contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808-800-5000.

Source

Medomsley young offenders centre: over 140 alleged victims of abuse have come forward

 












Detectives said they were "shaken" by "horrific" alleged cases

Kashmira Gander Author Biography

Monday 27 January 2014

More than 140 people have told police investigators that they were sexually or physically abused at a young offenders centre between the late 1960s and mid-1980s.

Since August, when detectives announced that they were re-opening a decade-old investigation into allegations against staff working at Medomsley Detention Centre near Consett, County Durham, 143 people have come forward.

Investigators said they were left “shaken” by the “horrific” accounts they heard, but praised the courage of the alleged victims.

Young inmates at the centre were so desperate that they asked each other to break their legs so they could be moved elsewhere and escape the staff, the BBC has been told.

Ray Poar, who was 17 when he was imprisoned for stealing biscuits from a factory, has waived his right to anonymity.

He told the BBC how he was woken up and made to bunny-hop to the showers after wetting his bed. When he couldn’t make it, he was kicked, he said.

He said: “The odd punch in the arm, the ribs, the back of the knees, every day they were doing it. You had nobody to talk to.”

“It's always in my head, the shame, it's ruined my life, it's completely ruined it,” he added.

Many of those sent to Medomsley were first-time offenders often detained for relatively minor offences.

Detective Superintendent Paul Goundry, of Durham Constabulary, said: "We said from the outset this was going to be a long and complex investigation which we fully expect will last at least another 12 months.

“The accounts we have heard have been horrific and have shaken some very experienced detectives who are working on this.

"It is obviously distressing to hear from so many victims, but at the same time I am relieved they have shown the confidence in us to get in touch and allow us to help them.

“Our efforts are directed not just at establishing what happened in Medomsley over that period but ensuring the victims are left in a better place and get the support and advice they need.”

In 2003, a separate police investigation called Operation Halter led to the conviction of Neville Husband, a prison officer at the centre.

Mr Husband was initially jailed for eight years after being found guilty of abusing five young people.

The publicity surrounding the trial then led to others coming forward and Husband was subsequently jailed for a further two years for these attacks.

Leslie Johnson, a store man, was sentenced to six years in 2005.

Both men have since died.

Source

Medomsley Detention Centre sex abuse victim claims authorities must have known

12:50am Monday 27th January 2014 in

 Consett News By Gavin Engelbrecht

 

 

  John McCabe

DETECTIVES last night confirmed they are investigating claims of a cover-up of abuse at a notorious North-East detention centre.

More than 140 people have contacted police with allegations of physical and sexual abuse at the Medomsley Detention Centre, near Consett, during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

The centre first made national headlines in 2003 when Neville Husband, an officer at Medomsley, was sentenced to ten years in jail for systematically raping several teenagers.

One of Husband's victims, John McCabe, has claimed that he believes the abuse was covered-up.
Mr McCabe, who is now 48, has waived his right to anonymity, to speak of his horrific ordeal as a 17-year-old.

He said: “Within weeks of arriving at Medomsley (and the abuse starting) I was upgraded to the status of a most-trusted trainee, despite being a known flight risk. And Husband was the only person allowed to take me off the premises.”

Detective Superintendent Paul Goundry, who is leading the inquiry, codenamed Operation Seabrook, confirmed: “There are claims that there was cover-up that went right to the top and that Husband couldn’t have continued the abuse without others either turning a blind eye or helping.

“How far up it went, and whether or not people turned a blind eye and were complicit in it, is a clear line of inquiry for this investigation.”

After serving his sentence, Husband, a disgraced United Reformed Minister, died of natural causes at his home in nearby Snows Green, Shotley Bridge, in 2010.

His friend,  storeman Leslie Johnson, was jailed for six year for similar offences. He too has died.
Police renewed their investigation after a meeting with Mr McCabe’s MP last August.

It has since become the largest inquiry of its kind, with about 80 officers involved, along with a support network – including Rape Crisis, The Meadows Sexual Assault Referral Centre and the NSPCC.

Det Supt Goundry said about half of the new victims alleged physical abuse “far beyond what was meant by a short, sharp shock intended”, while the remainder claimed sexual abuse - the bulk of whom said they had been been abused by Husband.

He added: “Every victim we have spoken to has a story to tell that is quite frankly horrendous – not only in terms of the details of the abuse, but the effect it has had on them since they were in Medomsley."

Det Supt Goundry said the investigation will move from evidence gathering to interviewing potential offenders by spring.

Former governor Tim Newell, who was in charge at Medomsley for part of the time the original abuse took place, has given a statement to BBC documentary Inside Out in which he says he was “very sad about the pain brought about by his staff”.

He adds: “If I had any suspicions about sexual abuse of any kind I would have taken action. If staff knew about the abuse taking place I am very concerned they let the abuse continue.”

Durham's chief constable, Mike Barton, pledged that all the allegations would be thoroughly investigated.  "We are pleased so many people have come forward and trusted us with their accounts of what happened to them all that time ago," he said.

"It’s absolutely vital that all my staff who investigate allegations of sexual abuse treat victims sympthetically and provide them with the necessary support, and strive to bring  offenders to book.

* Inside Out will be broadcast on BBC One at 7.30pm tonight.
Source

Medomsley Detention Centre: Victims lives were 'ruined'

7 January 2014 Last updated at 06:00

 

Medomsley Detention Centre closed in the late 1980s 

Related Stories

• Reports of centre abuse rise to 120
• Abuse centre victim reports increase
• Abuse probe finds 64 more 'victims'

Boys at a detention centre asked other inmates to break their legs in order to be moved elsewhere and escape being abused by staff, a former detainee has claimed.

Police reopened a 10-year-old investigation into abuse at a former County Durham detention centre last year when a former inmate said he was also abused. Since then the force said it has been contacted by more than 100 alleged victims.

Men who alleged that as boys they were the victims of sexual and physical abuse at the County Durham detention centre in the 1970s and 1980s have spoken of their memories.

"Some of the boys would lay at the bottom of the stairs and ask another boy to jump off the stairs on to their legs so they could break a leg and be removed from Medomsley Detention Centre in order to not be subjected to any more beatings," an alleged victim, who did not wish to be named, said.

 

Ray Poar said he was made to "bunny hop to the showers naked" 
 

Following the original investigation, Neville Husband, who worked at the detention centre as a prison officer, was jailed for 12 years in 2003, and Leslie Johnson, a store man, was sentenced to six years in 2005.
Both men have since died.

Since the investigation was reopened in August, Durham Police has received statements from 143 alleged victims of abuse.

Many of those sent to Medomsley were first-time offenders often detained for relatively minor offences.
Ray Poar was 17 when he was sent there for stealing biscuits from a factory and has waived his right to anonymity.

He said: "It's always in my head, the shame, it's ruined my life, it's completely ruined it."
'Kicking us about' On one occasion Mr Poar remembered being woken up after wetting his bed and being forced to bunny hop naked to the showers.

He said: "When I couldn't make it to the showers I was kicked.

 

Neville Husband was jailed for 12 years in 2003 and later died
 

"We knew we couldn't turn around to them and complain to them about what had happened with Husband because they were part of it, they were the ones that were kicking us about every day.

"The odd punch in the arm, the ribs, the back of the knees, every day they were doing it. You had nobody to talk to."

In 2003, Newcastle Crown Court heard Husband used his position of authority at the centre to systematically abuse his victims from 1974 to 1984. He was jailed after being found guilty of 10 counts of indecent assault and one of a serious sexual offence after police said almost two dozen victims came forward.

One man who wished to remain anonymous said some of the worst violence he suffered was from fellow inmates but he alleges it was orchestrated by prison staff.

He said: "They were telling you that you were worthless, that's why you were in there, you were no good, nobody wanted you.

"I was in the dorm, I felt being kicked and punched and slapped. When I've tried to look up, because I was in bed, I saw a prison officer at the door smiling.

'I apologise'
 
"Then I realised he's put them up to this and I just curled up into a ball and took what they threw at us. I thought tonight it's my turn, it will be somebody else's tomorrow."

About 70 Durham Police detectives are working on the inquiry.

Det Supt Paul Goundry described the reports as "horrific" and those who were sent there were faced with "what was effectively a brutal regime".

"If you ended up in the kitchens you would almost certainly be raped and sexually assaulted," he said.

 

Det Supt Paul Goundry described the reports as "horrific"

Mr Goundry said the three key strands of the inquiry were finding out what happened at Medomsley over 20 years, to hold people to account if they were still alive and support any victims.

Tim Newell, who was the governor at Medomsley between 1978-1981, wrote reports about Husband including that he provided "an outstanding contribution to the running of the establishment".

However, in January, Mr Newell said in a statement he wrote the report about Husband because "he was an outstanding catering officer" and did not have a strong relationship with Husband.

Mr Newell said: "If I had any suspicions about sexual abuse or abuse of any kind I would have taken action. If staff knew about the abuse taking place I am very concerned they let the abuse continue."

Sir Martin Narey was director general of the prison service when Husband's crimes came to light.
He said: "Without reservation I apologise to people at Medomsley who were harmed by Neville Husband. We should have stopped him much earlier."

Durham Police asked anybody with information to come forward.

For advice and support call BBC Action Line on 08000 566 065. Lines are open 24 hours a day and all calls are confidential. Calls are free from most landlines. Some networks and mobile operators will charge for these calls. 

See the full story on BBC One's Inside Out in the North East on Monday 27 January at 19:30 GMT.

Source

BBC Inside out Tomorrow 19:30

Not currently available on BBC iPlayer

Link

Duration: 29 minutes

Exclusive access as police investigate claims of abuse in a County Durham detention centre. Plus, a report on the fate of the crew of a condemned ship stranded on the Tyne, and should HMS Illustrious come home to retire in the north east?

• BBC One

Tomorrow 19:30 BBC One HD, North East & Cumbria only

• Information and Support

  If you or someone you know have been affected by issues around child abuse, there are organisations that can help.
  
  View a list of groups offering information and support

Credits

Presenter

Chris Jackson

Editor

Jacqui Hodgson

Broadcasts

• BBC OneMon 27 Jan 2014 19:30 BBC One HD, North East & Cumbria only