Four former prison workers have been questioned by
Durham Police detectives
Durham Police detectives
Detectives probing allegations of abuse on inmates at a young
offenders’ centre have begun interviewing former members of prison
staff.
A new investigation into alleged violent and sexual attacks at Medomsley Detention Centre, near Consett, was launched by Durham Police last year.
It centres around the abuse of detainees in their late teens who were held at the Home Office-run centre between 1960, and when it closed in 1988.
Previous police investigations in 2003 and 2005 led to the conviction and jailing of former staff members Neville Husband and Leslie Johnson, who have since died.
But since the new probe, codenamed ‘Operation Seabrook’ was launched a staggering 915 men have contacted police to say they had been either physically or sexually abused at Medomsley. But just a third of these say they were abused by either Johnson or Husband.
Last week detectives began interviewing four more men, all of which attended police stations voluntarily and were formally interviewed under caution. All were prison officers at Medomsley at different times during the 1970s and 1980s.
Det Supt Paul Goundry said: “Our initial priority was to gain a full understanding of how Medomsley Detention Centre operated during that time. We also needed to make counselling and professional support available to anyone who needed help. A principal aim was to identify a number of people we needed to speak to about the allegations that have been made. The actions we are now taking are crucial to that aspect of the operation, and there are a number of other former employees we will be making contact with over the next few weeks.”
Source
A new investigation into alleged violent and sexual attacks at Medomsley Detention Centre, near Consett, was launched by Durham Police last year.
It centres around the abuse of detainees in their late teens who were held at the Home Office-run centre between 1960, and when it closed in 1988.
Previous police investigations in 2003 and 2005 led to the conviction and jailing of former staff members Neville Husband and Leslie Johnson, who have since died.
But since the new probe, codenamed ‘Operation Seabrook’ was launched a staggering 915 men have contacted police to say they had been either physically or sexually abused at Medomsley. But just a third of these say they were abused by either Johnson or Husband.
Last week detectives began interviewing four more men, all of which attended police stations voluntarily and were formally interviewed under caution. All were prison officers at Medomsley at different times during the 1970s and 1980s.
Det Supt Paul Goundry said: “Our initial priority was to gain a full understanding of how Medomsley Detention Centre operated during that time. We also needed to make counselling and professional support available to anyone who needed help. A principal aim was to identify a number of people we needed to speak to about the allegations that have been made. The actions we are now taking are crucial to that aspect of the operation, and there are a number of other former employees we will be making contact with over the next few weeks.”
Source
