In the final trial today Alan
Bramley, 70 (pictured outside Teesside Crown Court) was today convicted
of misconduct in public office but cleared of assault causing actual
bodily harm
One young prisoner was beaten up by the
officer in charge of physical training when he tried to tell him that
one of his colleagues - later jailed for sexual abuse - had raped him in
the kitchens.
The same officer threw rocks at a different prisoner causing him to fall in the gym and damage his vertebrae.
Successive
juries were told how a favoured device of some who worked at the centre
was to ask new entries their name, and then punch or kick them when
they failed to add 'Sir' in their responses.
Judge
Howard Crownson lifted reporting restrictions on the hearings after the
verdicts were returned in the last of three trials today.
Brian
Greenwell, 70,
Kevin
Blakely, 67,
were both convicted of
misconduct in public office for when they worked at the County Durham
detention centre
Describing the
extent of the ill-treatment that some of the young men experienced,
prosecutor Jamie Hill QC said: 'There was an atmosphere of fear and
violence throughout the institution, and, we say, that atmosphere
allowed officers such as these defendants to commit offences in the
knowledge that that type of behaviour was sanctioned by their
colleagues.
'To simply say that it was a
different time with different attitudes would be to abdicate
responsibility for investigating serious allegations of crime against
people made vulnerable due to their incarceration.'
The seven defendants were split up into three separate trials, with five convicted and two cleared.
Former officer Christopher Onslow, 72, was
convicted of misconduct in public office between 1975 and December
1980, a separate charge of misconduct in public office covering a later
period from January 1981 to December 1985, inflicting grievous bodily
harm, three charges of assault causing actual bodily harm and wounding
with intent.
John McGee, 74, was convicted of misconduct in public office and assault causing actual bodily harm.
Brian
Greenwell, 70, was convicted of misconduct in public office and Neil
Sowerby, 62, was cleared of misconduct in public office, sexual charges
and assault.
In the final trials today
Kevin Blakely, 67, and Alan Bramley, 70, were both convicted of
misconduct in public office but cleared of assaults causing actual
bodily harm.
David McClure, 63, was cleared of assault and misconduct.
The
jury heard how Onslow was in charge of physical training at the
facility between 1975 and 1985, but 'exploited his position of authority
in a consistently sadistic and brutal fashion'.
One
of his victims was climbing an obstacle course, but got stuck while
around 20ft in the air, prompting the then-officer, nicknamed 'The
Machine' to throw rocks at him until he fell backwards onto the ground.
It was later discovered that the trainee had suffered three crushed vertebrae.
Onslow
beat up an inmate who had been sent to work in the kitchens and was
raped by Neville Husband - later convicted of sexually abusing inmates.
When
the inmate said 'There's something amiss with Mr Husband in the
kitchens', Onslow launched an attack and told him never to tell anyone
else.
Another young offender was aged
17 when the defendant 'lost control of himself' and kicked and stamped
on him, before throwing medicine balls at him.
He beat up an inmate who lost a 200m race during sports day, saying he had lost a £10 bet on the 17-year-old.
Another inmate, who was mixed race, was subjected to a torrent of racist abuse from Onslow and other wardens.
Mr Hill said of Onslow: 'He took advantage of the power that had been entrusted to him and abused it to an alarming degree.'
Ex-officer
McGee punched one victim who was serving a three-month sentence in the
face, before forcing him to remove his underwear and 'bunny-hop' to the
showers after he had soiled himself.
Kevin
Blakely, 67, nicknamed Broken Nose by inmates, worked at Medomsley
between 1974 and 1983 and was convicted of misconduct in a public office
by assaulting and abusing detainees, but cleared of causing actual
bodily harm and unlawful wounding.
Alan Bramley, 70, worked at the centre for
four years from 1973 and was dubbed Bong Eye. He was convicted of
misconduct in a public office by assaulting and abusing prisoners, but
cleared of causing actual bodily harm and unlawful wounding.
Durham Police said that Onslow and McGee have launched appeals against their convictions.
The five men are due to be sentenced at a later date.
Judge Crowson told Bramley and Blakely - the final two to be convicted - they could be released on bail.
He
said: 'I do not have any doubts about you returning, you must
understand when you return, there are possibilities including prison.
'I will have to decide whether that is the appropriate sentence on the next occasion.'
Where was Medomsley Detention Centre and what was it used for?
In
a terrible irony, Medomsley Detention Centre was set up to keep young
offenders out of prison and away from the influence of older criminals.
For
these teenagers were subjected to routine violence and mistreatment at
the hands of the grown men who were supposed to look after them and
maintain order.
Built on the site of a
Victorian orphanage near Consett in 1960, it was designed to house young
offenders aged 17 to 21 to serve sentences for offences which today
would not routinely attract a custodial sentence.
It could hold 130 inmates but typically housed around 70, mainly for northern England.
They would normally spend six to eight weeks at the Home Office-run centre before being released. It closed in 1988.
Neville
Husband, former boss of the Medomsley kitchens, was jailed in 2005 for
10 years for a series of sex attacks on young inmates.
Medomsley Detention Centre
(pictured in 1999) was set up to keep young offenders out of prison and
away from the influence of older criminals
After working at the centre he went on to become a church minister and has since died.
Jamie
Hill QC, prosecuting, explained to the three juries how detention
centres like Medomsley were designed to house detainees convicted of
more minor offences, while those who had committed more serious offences
would be sent to borstal training.
He
said that the central goal at borstal was the rehabilitation of the
young people sent there, adding that detention centres, in contrast,
were 'a very different type of institution'.
Outlining
the 'quasi-military' routines that existed there, he said that the
young offenders would be made to follow strict timetables, with an
emphasis on obedience to staff.
Mr Hill
said that centres like Medomsley operated on a 'short sharp shock'
mantra, but added that corporal punishment was only allowed when
necessary, such as in self-defence or to restrain a detainee.
The centre was the scene of
widespread abuse of young inmates between 1960 and its closure in 1988.
It is pictured derelict in 1996
What was Operation Seabrook?
Operation Seabrook was one of the country's biggest inquiries into decades-old sexual and physical abuse.
No
fewer than 1,676 former detainees told detectives they were assaulted
by staff over a period spanning the 1960s to when Medomsley Detention
Centre closed in 1988.
Durham Police
launched Operation Seabrook in August 2013 to ensure victims were
receiving support, to investigate how it operated and to gather evidence
with a view to prosecuting former staff members.
The force's Major Crime Team took the job on, and at times 70 detectives were working on the case.
It
has identified 32 suspects who were still alive and in November 2017
the Crown Prosecution Service advised that seven should be charged.
Following
a series of three trials, five officers have now been convicted of
misconduct relating to physical abuse which went on there.
Durham Police said another six suspects could yet be charged.
In
the course of the trials, during which reporting was banned, 71
complainants gave evidence. Five of the detainees who had died since
coming forward had their statements read out in court.
Durham Police said it had collated 23,280 documents relating to the investigation.
Detective
Chief Superintendent Adrian Green, the senior investigating officer,
said that the force has deployed 'significant resource' when
investigating the abuse claims
He said: 'I don't think there's been a historic abuse case with this number of complainants, in my knowledge, before.'
On
the possibility of further charges being put, and further trials being
held, he said: 'There may well be other people who have suffered in
Medomsley who want to come forward, who identify other people for which
evidence could be found.
'There are
definitely other offenders who have been identified by victims who, if
the evidence was available, certainly have questions to answer.'
Mr
Green also explained how it is important to stress that there was not a
'regime of abuse' from officials, saying that those who have been
convicted had 'abused their position'.
When
asked whether the delay between the offences and the convictions was
the result of a 'cover-up', he said of individuals that worked at the
centre: 'If they knew that abuse of this nature was occurring then shame
on them, because they should have intervened and they should have
stopped it.
'They had a duty to do so, and have failed.'
