27 January 2014
Last updated at 14:54
Article written by
Chris Jackson
Presenter, Inside Out, North East & Cumbria
Medomsley closed in 1988. Detectives are investigating what they call the "brutal regime" at the youth detention centre
When the government of the
day introduced the "short, sharp, shock" regime to youth detention
centres, the then Home Secretary Willie Whitelaw said this: "These will
be no holiday camps and I sincerely hope those that attend them will not
ever want to go back there."
He could not have known how true that would be, but for very different reasons.
On
Inside Out
(BBC One HD, Monday 27 January 2014 at 19:30 GMT) we hear from men who
as teenagers were either raped or sexually abused by two of their
warders at Medomsley in County Durham.
Others claim they were physically abused from the moment they entered to the day they left.
They told us they couldn't report what was being done as they felt no-one at the institution would believe them.
Worse still, we heard from one former inmate who says on the
day of his release he went to the police who told him to go away or he'd
be rearrested and end up back in Medomsley.
No wonder it's taken three decades for allegations of systematic abuse to come to light.
Neville Husband was jailed for 10 years for raping young inmates at Medomsley Detention Centre
Neville Husband who ran the kitchens was jailed for 10 years in
2003 for raping young men - police believe dozens of boys were victims
over a 20 year period.
A store man, Leslie Johnson was given the same sentence for similar offences. Both have since died.
Now more than 140 men have come forward with claims they suffered at the hands of staff in Medomsley.
Half relate to sexual abuse and half to regular physical abuse meted out at Medomsley.
This time the police have a very different approach to those who have found the courage to break their decades of silence.
It's hard to underestimate how the trauma they endured has been compounded by bottling it up for so long.
Durham Constabulary has
70 detectives working on the case
and the details of what the victims have been telling them is, in the
words of Detective Superintendent Paul Goundry, "horrific".
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If you have been affected by the issues in this story and
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He is determined that by coming forward the police will
have dealt with them in such a sensitive way that "the place they find
themselves in afterwards is better".
With more people coming forward all the time, a decision will
be made later in the year about whether any criminal charges will be
brought.
Inside Out approached one of the governors who was in charge
of the centre when Neville Husband was carrying out his sex attacks
within the prison walls.
In a statement Tim Newall said:
"During my time at Medomsley the regime became more focussed
on the educational and resettlement needs of the young in custody,
whilst retaining the core elements of work and physical education. We
worked towards strengthening future opportunities for them when they
left the centre.
"It came as a shock to me to learn many years later of the
crimes of Neville Husband. I greatly regret that young men under
punishment by the courts were subjected to serious abuse by my staff.
"We had measures in place to try to provide a safe place for
trainees. We had a complaints and application system explained to
trainees in their first week by me.
"I used to see them in their last week as well to check on
their experience during their sentence and their future prospects.
Senior staff and I visited all parts of the centre usually twice a day
and in the evening and would regularly talk with trainees about their
experience.
Tim Newall was governor of Medomsley from 1978 to 1981
"I took daily applications from trainees. We had a very active
Board of Visitors who also visited every part of the establishment at
least weekly to make themselves accessible to trainees.
"All these measures were to provide opportunities to monitor
the atmosphere and to enable trainees to ask questions and comment on
their treatment.
"All such visits by me, senior staff and Board of Visitors
would include going into the kitchen to check with staff on progress.
The meal was always sampled in front of trainees by a senior member of
staff.
"If I had had any suspicions about sexual abuse, or abuse of
any kind, I would have taken action straight away. I dealt with much
lesser staff disciplinary matters through the disciplinary code of the
Prison Service and my staff knew I would not tolerate misbehaviour.
"Neville Husband was an outstanding catering officer - he was
recognised nationally as the editor of the Catering News, he had
innovated systems of publishing the menu a week in advance for trainees
and developed a system of choice for them (the first catering officer to
do so), and we never had complaints about the food (unusual in a
custodial setting).
"Because of this I commented as I did in his annual reports
about his performance as a cook and the team's delivery of good quality
meals.
"I did not have a particularly close relationship with
Neville Husband outside the centre. He was an award winning director of
amateur dramatics and I took part in three plays in my three years at
Medomsley.
"The plays took place in the premises of the church that I
attended in Shotley Bridge. Throughout my service I have tried to be
involved in community activities with my family.
"If staff knew about the abuse taking place in the centre I am very concerned that they let the abuse continue.
"All it would have taken was a word to one of the four other
senior staff at the centre, members of the same union as the officers,
for the matter to have been investigated by the police following a
suspension of the officer concerned.
"I am very sad about the pain brought about by my staff
during my time at Medomsley. If I had had any hint of what was happening
I would have stopped it, suspending the staff involved and setting up a
police investigation."
Inside Out can be seen on BBC One HD on Monday, 27 January 2014 at 19:30 GMT and for seven days on the BBC iPlayer.
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