Seven former prison officers who have
been charged with abusing young men at a former North East detention
centre will go on trial over the next few months.
Police have confirmed 11 further men who were under investigation
following allegations of abuse at the Medomsley Detention Centre, near
Consett, are to face no further action.
The men were being investigated as part of Operation Seabrook –
Durham Constabulary’s long-running investigation into allegations of
abuse at the centre.
After an extensive police investigation, and after
consulting with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the 11 will face no
further action as, due to the evidence available, there was no
realistic prospect of conviction.
A further six men will remain under investigation for physical and sexual abuse offences. They are all former prison officers.
Christopher
Onslow, 72, denies charges of misconduct in a public office, physical
abuse and sexual offences. His trial will be held in September.
John McGee, 74, Brian Johnson Greenwell, 71, and Neil Sowerby, 61,
also deny charges of misconduct in a public office, physical abuse and
sexual offences. They will go on trial in November.
David McClure,
62, Alan Bramley, 69, and Kevin Blakely, 66, face charges of misconduct
in public office and physical abuse only. They have all denied the
charges and will appear at court in January for trial.
Operation Seabrook was launched in August 2013 and is one of the largest investigations of its kind in the UK.
So
far, more than 1,630 men have contacted the Operation Seabrook team to
report allegations of either sexual or physical assaults while detained
at Medomsley from the 1960s to when the centre closed in 1988.
The officer leading the investigation, Detective Chief Superintendent
Adrian Green, said: "Operation Seabrook has now entered its sixth year.
It continues to be a long and complex investigation and one which we,
and the CPS, remain committed in moving forward.
"I would like to
reassure victims and survivors that they are at the heart of everything
we do. Professional support has been offered to anyone who needs help.
"Anyone who believes they are a victim and has not
already contacted the police should call us on 101 or email
operation.seabrook@durham.pnn.police.uk"
The men had been under investigation as part of Operation Seabrook involving allegations of abuse at the former detention centre
Det Supt Adrian Green, senior investigating officer for Operation Griffin at Durham Police HQ
Eleven men under investigation following allegations of abuse at a
former detention centre will face no further action, police have
confirmed.
The men were being investigated as part of Operation
Seabrook – Durham Constabulary’s long-running investigation into
allegations of abuse at the controversial former Medomsley Detention
Centre, near Consett.
Police
say that due to lack of evidence available following an extensive
investigation and consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS),
there was no realistic prospect of conviction.
However, a
further six men remain under investigation for physical and sexual abuse
offences. They are all former prison officers.
Seven former prison officers who have been charged with abusing young men at the centre are due to go on trial.
Christopher
Onslow, 72, denies charges of misconduct in a public office, physical
abuse and sexual offences. His trial will be held in September.
John McGee, 74, Brian Johnson Greenwell, 71, and Neil Sowerby, 61,
also deny charges of misconduct in a public office, physical abuse and
sexual offences. They will go on trial in November.
David
McClure, 62, Alan Bramley, 69, and Kevin Blakely, 66, face charges of
misconduct in public office and physical abuse only. They have all
denied the charges and will appear at court in January for trial.
Operation Seabrook was launched in August 2013 and is one of the largest investigations of its kind in the UK.
So
far, more than 1,630 men have contacted the Operation Seabrook team to
report allegations of either sexual or physical assaults while detained
at Medomsley from the 1960s to when the centre closed in 1988.
The officer leading the investigation, Detective Chief Superintendent Adrian Green, said:
“Operation
Seabrook has now entered its sixth year. It continues to be a long and
complex investigation and one which we, and the CPS, remain committed in
moving forward.
“I would like to reassure victims and survivors
that they are at the heart of everything we do.
Professional support has
been offered to anyone who needs help.
“Anyone who believes they
are a victim and has not already contacted the police should call us on
101 or email operation.seabrook@durham.pnn.police.uk”.
Following an extensive police investigation, and after consulting with
the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), the 11 men will face no further
action as, due to the evidence available, there was no realistic
prospect of conviction.
A further six men will remain under investigation for physical and sexual abuse offences. They are all former prison officers.
Seven former prison officers who have been charged with abusing young men at the centre are due to go on trial.
Christopher Onslow, 72, denies charges of misconduct in a public
office, physical abuse and sexual offences. His trial will be held in
September.
John McGee, 74, Brian Johnson Greenwell, 71, and Neil Sowerby, 61,
also deny charges of misconduct in a public office, physical abuse and
sexual offences. They will go on trial in November.
David McClure, 62, Alan Bramley, 69, and Kevin Blakely, 66, face
charges of misconduct in public office and physical abuse only. They
have all denied the charges and will appear at court in January for
trial.
Operation Seabrook was launched in August 2013 and is one of the largest investigations of its kind in the UK.
So far, more than 1,630 men have contacted the Operation Seabrook team
to report allegations of either sexual or physical assaults while
detained at Medomsley from the 1960s to when the centre closed in 1988.
The officer leading the investigation, Detective Chief Superintendent
Adrian Green, said: “Operation Seabrook has now entered its sixth year.
It continues to be a long and complex investigation and one which we,
and the CPS, remain committed in moving forward.”
He added:“I would like to reassure victims and survivors that they are
at the heart of everything we do. Professional support has been offered
to anyone who needs help.
“Anyone who believes they are a victim and has not already contacted
the police should call us on 101 or email
operation.seabrook@durham.pnn.police.uk”
The seven defendants have denied all the charges against them.
Nearly
1,400 men have claimed they were abused at Medomsley, which prior to
its closure in 1988 held teenage offenders who had committed relatively
minor crimes.
Home secretary told current inquiry won’t hear Medomsley evidence because of age cut-off
The home secretary, Sajid Javid, was told the independent inquiry into
child sexual abuse had failed alleged abuse victims of Medomsley
detention centre.
Photograph: Victoria Jones/PA
Former inmates of a detention centre who claim they were sexually or
physically abused have asked the home secretary, Sajid Javid, for their
own public inquiry.
John McCabe, a former inmate of Medomsley detention centre, recently
told Javid in a private meeting at the House of Commons that the victims
he represented had been failed by the ongoing independent inquiry into
child sexual abuse (IICSA).
Because the cut-off point for victims is 18 at the public inquiry,
evidence will not be heard from those who were aged between 18 and 21
when they say they were abused, even though the age of homosexual
consent was 21 at the time.
In November 2017 seven former members of staff, aged between 61 and 74, were charged with abuse and misconduct.
The inquiry recently concluded a two-week investigation into the
abuse of children in custodial institutions but McCabe is frustrated at
the exclusion of older victims. Meanwhile, the investigation into
Medomsley has been delayed by legal proceedings.
The inquiry, established to examine how the country’s institutions
handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse, has
been marred in controversy since it was announced in 2014 by the then
home secretary Theresa May. In 2016, Dame Lowell Goddard became the
third chair to resign, saying the inquiry’s remit was too complex, too
broad and went back too far (60 years).
McCabe told the home secretary that the victims of Medomsley will
have been denied justice if they were not granted their own public
inquiry at the end of the criminal prosecutions. “According to the terms
of the IICSA inquiry, they were not children at the time they were
abused. Yet we were sent to Medomsley rather than prison because we were
young and vulnerable. For the victims who have been excluded from
giving evidence, it is like being abused all over again.”
McCabe said IICSA was an inappropriate forum for detention centre
victims to be heard because it was only examining sexual abuse. “This
means that those people who suffered physical abuse will not get the
opportunity to give evidence,” he said.
“The victims were in the care of the state when they were abused. The
state failed in its duty of care then. I asked the home secretary to
exercise that duty of care now by ordering a separate public inquiry.”
Laura Pidcock, the MP for North West Durham and shadow minister for
Labour, attended the meeting with McCabe and Javid. “It is important
that the current criminal proceedings continue unimpeded,” she said.
“But it is also right that a separate, thorough-going, public inquiry is
granted for Medomsley once these criminal processes are concluded.”
A spokesperson for the Home Office said: “IICSA is independent of
government and it is for the chair and panel to determine the scope of
its investigations within its terms of reference.”
Home Secretary visits Durham
PCVC Ron Hogg and Deputy Chief Constable Jo Farrell welcome Home Secretary Sajid Javed to Durham
HOME Secretary Sajid Javid today visited Durham Constabulary to see how
the force is tackling a number of key policing issues.
Mr Javid travelled to the force’s Aykley Heads headquarters where he
was met by Deputy Chief Constable Jo Farrell and Police, Crime and
Victims’ Commissioner Ron Hogg.
The Home Secretary was shown how Durham - the top performing force in
the country - is preventing cybercrime and tackling serious and
organised crime, and met a number of frontline officers.
He was also introduced to officers, navigators and service users on
the Checkpoint scheme, which aims to reduce the number of victims of
crime by reducing reoffending.
It offers those charged with offences usually dealt with by
magistrates the chance to avoid a criminal conviction by making amends
to the community and their victims.
Deputy Chief Constable Jo Farrell said: “I am delighted that we have
been able to share some of our innovative work with the Home Secretary
and highlight where gaps in legislation are exploited by organised
criminals.”
Police, Crime and Victims' Commissioner Ron Hogg said: “I was pleased
to welcome the Home Secretary to Durham today, and to talk about the
innovative work that is happening to reduce reoffending and support
vulnerable people.
“I also raised concerns about the reduction in resources in the past
few years, and the pressure that this is putting on officers, and I
asked for Government departments to work together more closely to make
it easier to reduce reoffending.”
Clockwise from top left: Kevin Blakey,
Alan Bramley, Johnson Brian Greenwell, David McClure, Christopher Onslow, John McGee,
Neil Sowerby
Seven former officers have denied abusing teenagers at a youth detention centre during the 1970s and 1980s.
The men, who are in their 60s and 70s, worked at the former centre in Medomsley, County Durham.
All are charged with physical abuse and misconduct in a public office, and four are also accused of sex offences.
Appearing
at Teesside Crown Court, they pleaded not guilty and were bailed to
return for three trials, with the first due to start on 3 September.
They are:
Kevin Blakey, 65, two counts of misconduct, two counts of wounding, and two of assault
Alan Bramley, 69, misconduct, wounding, and two counts of assault
Johnson Brian Greenwell, 70, misconduct, serious sexual assault, false imprisonment, and two counts of assault
David McClure, 62, misconduct, wounding, and four counts of assault
John McGee, 73, misconduct, four counts of assault, two counts of indecent assault, serious sexual assault, and wounding
Christopher Onslow, 71, two counts of
misconduct, two of serious sexual assault, two counts of wounding, two
counts of wounding with intent, three counts of assault, and one of
indecent assault
Neil Sowerby, 60, misconduct, three counts of serious sexual assault, two counts of assault and four counts of indecent assault
Nearly 1,400 men have claimed they were abused at Medomsley,
which prior to its closure in 1988 held teenage offenders who had
committed relatively minor crimes.
The seven defendants deny all the charges against them.
