The brave victim is one of 20 former inmates who have
contacted detectives to help expose the abusers, after appeals in the
Mirror
Monster: Prison officer Neville Husband
North News & Pictures
A new witness has given police key evidence to support claims of a borstal paedophile ring suspected of raping hundreds of boys.
The
brave victim is one of 20 former inmates of the Medomsley Detention
Centre in County Durham who have contacted detectives to help expose the
abusers, after appeals in the Mirror.
Police refused to
acknowledge claims of a paedophile ring after prison officer Neville
Husband and another man were jailed for the mass rape of boys.
But
speaking last night, the witness – who wishes to remain anonymous –
said: “I’ve spoken to police after seeing the stories about other
victims.
"Until then I thought I was the only one. I was sexually abused at Medomsley, and it was not by Neville Husband.
“He’d left by the time I’d arrived. That place was a living hell.”
Campaigning MP Michael McCann said: “The net is closing. I hope those involved are having sleepless nights.”
The
witness told how the borstal was separated into dorms with bunk beds
and prison guards entered the rooms at night to abuse boys.
His
evidence could even confirm a police cover-up which fooled other
officers and prosecutors and led to a continuation of the abuse.
He
said: “You wouldn’t be able to sleep. You’d stare at the door all
night, praying it wouldn’t open. They’d come in and abuse boys. Everyone
lived in fear that if you spoke up they’d target you. Every day I got
punched and kicked by guards.
“But there was one in particular. A real bully. He would pin me up against the wall and fondle me.
“He’s the one I’d remember. The police have photographs of them all and I’m confident I’ll be able to pick him out.”
The
victim left Medomsley but never reported it to police – and until
recent coverage in the Mirror, he thought he was the only lad abused
there.
He tried to commit suicide several times, even throwing himself into a river only to be dragged out by police.
He
said: “My life fell apart. Whoever I was died in that place, and
someone different came out. But now I realise I wasn’t alone. And that
is some comfort.”
Durham Police have now gathered photographs of
every serving prison officer at Medomsley throughout the 70s and 80s,
when hundreds were raped and sexually abused.
Detectives plan to
sit the new witness in front of a photobank where he will be able to
pick out the members of the paedophile ring.
Brave: Victim John McCabe, right, with MP Michael McCann
Stuart Nicol
The investigation was reopened after victim John McCabe, from
East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, persisted with his claims that Husband and
another man, storeman Leslie Johnson, were not acting alone.
Police now fear a ring of up to four prison officers were involved – as well as attackers from outside the jail.
Some boys were taken off prison premises to be sexually abused at a location which the CPS has asked the Mirror not to disclose.
The witness, now married and in his 40s, was at Medomsley from October 1985.
Husband had left the borstal the year before and was transferred to another prison after being promoted.
Following his arrival, the new prison received allegations of sex abuse.
During
his 2003 trial, Newcastle crown court heard Husband – who became a
minister in the United Reformed Church after 27 years in the prison
service – had used his position of authority to systematically abuse
victims between 1974 and 1984.
The male inmates, aged between 16 and 19, had been picked by Husband to work in the kitchens.
He was jailed for sexual abuse along with storeman Leslie Johnson in 2003. Both men are now dead.
Police
believe there were hundreds more who fell prey to the paedophile ring.
The hunt is now on to catch the abusers who have evaded justice for more
than 20 years.
Medomsley closed in the late 1980s after the abuse came to light and has reopened as a secure training centre.
A
source close to the investigation said: “The police now have a
dedicated Medomsley team looking into those who suffered sexual abuse
and those who suffered other violent attacks.”
'This evidence could be a major breakthrough'
Labour MP Michael McCann campaigned for a police probe into Medomsley after victim John McCabe told him of the horrors.
And he is convinced the latest evidence is vital. He said: “This could be a major breakthrough.
"As well as the information that the Daily Mirror has uncovered the police have also been contacted by other victims.”
Mr McCabe, who has waived his right to anonymity, said: “It only goes to show it wasn’t just Neville Husband involved.
"This man’s story and evidence is going to confirm that even when Husband had left that more prison officers were still abusing.
“It
opens up a new era regarding the investigation. When you take out
Husband and Johnson from the picture, then it makes the abuse even
wider.
“It just goes to show there was a paedophile ring. These men should be tracked down, caught and put into prison.
"They must be held accountable and prosecuted, it doesn’t matter what age they are. Even if they are really old.” Call Durham Police on 101, or the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000, or help@nspcc.org.uk with information.
Medomsley detention centre is at the centre of a re-investigation into child sex abuse allegations. Photograph: BBC
More than 40 alleged victims of child sex abuse at a detention
centre for teenage boys in north-east England have come forward in
response to a police appeal, as part of a new investigation into serial
abuse at the centre during the 1970s and 80s.
Detectives from
Durham received the calls within less than a week of asking for victims
to come forward, following an investigation by the Guardian revealing
that a prison officer at Medomsley detention centre may have abused
hundreds of boys during a 17-year spell when he was in charge of the
kitchens at the centre.
The investigation will examine claims that
the police covered up complaints of abuse made by victims after they
were released from detention. Durham police appealed for victims who had
not come forward previously to do so now.
Previous investigations
carried out by police in 2002 and 2005 resulted in two men being jailed
for crimes committed at the centre, near Consett.
Neville
Husband, the main perpetrator, abused boys on a daily basis. He was
eventually jailed for 10 years and left prison in 2009. He died the
following year. Leslie Johnson, a storeman at Medomsley, was jailed for
six years and also died after being discharged from prison.
The
new investigation will examine claims that Husband and Johnson were part
of a ring which abused detainees, at Medomsley and other locations.
Police will also look at allegations that staff turned a blind eye to
Husband's abuse.
Last Wednesday, Det Supt Paul Goudray, head of
Durham police safeguarding unit said: "This investigation will put
victims at the heart of the enquiry, but at the same time we would like
to hear from anyone who has new information about Medomsley and the
abuse that occurred both inside, and when inmates were taken off-site."
Over a dozen men telephoned police in the first two days after that announcement.
A
spokesman for Durham police said on Wednesday a further 30 men had
contacted them and that the information was being assessed by
investigators.
The Guardian revealed Husband converted a kitchen
storeroom into a bedroom, where sex aids were later found. The paper
also learned staff were forbidden to search the kitchen area. At
Husband's trial, one officer said: " We knew something was going on, he –
Husband – used to keep a boy behind in the kitchen at night, we always
felt sorry for that boy." In 1969, while working at Portland borstal,
Dorset, Husband was arrested and charged with importing pornography. The
material seized and which he admitted showing to boys in his charge –
included sado-masochistic images of teenage boys.
The charges were
dropped after Husband claimed to be conducting research into
homosexuality. Details of that arrest were written across the top of his
employment record and went with him throughout his career.
Dr Eli
Godsi, a former senior psychologist for the Home Office, described
Husband's sexual abuse as one of the worst cases he had come across in
"17 years of working with some of the most prolific sex offenders in the
country".
Following the Guardian report, another victim, John
McCabe, contacted the paper and said he had been abused by Husband, both
on and off the premises at Medomsley. He said he had been raped by
another man at a location Husband had taken him to.
MP Michael McCann is campaigning for justice for an East Kilbride man who was raped in a borstal when he was a teenager.
John McCabe suffered six months of horrific sex abuse at the hands
of prison officer Neville Husband when he was a 17-year-old inmate.
Police last week launched an investigation into an alleged cover-up at notorious English borstal Medomsley Detention Centre.
Husband is believed to have been part of a prison paedophile ring.
The shocking case was re-opened thanks to the brave testimony of
49-year-old John and the help of his old school friend, East Kilbride MP
Michael McCann.
Michael, who was a classmate of John’s at St Bride’s High School in
the 1970s, said: “He (John) got into trouble with the authorities when
he was young and he has paid a gruesome price.
“I knew it would be tough to restart an investigation when the
events took place so long ago and the person who appears to have been
the main protagonist is dead but people that commit crimes must face
justice.
“I have been working hard to convince the police to look into this
case. I am pleased that the case has been re-opened and John and I want
to support the Durham Police investigation fully.
“We have been working behind the scenes for several months
discussing how best to make an appeal for information about abuse that
took place either inside or outside Medomsley Detention Centre.
“I am pleased to say that the police have received a number of calls in relation to the investigation.
“We know that young men attempted to report abuse 30 years ago but
they were let down by the authorities and John McCabe’s bravery in
revealing his story has already encouraged others to come forward.
“Young men like John were detained by the State and then they were
abused by agents of the State and others inside and outside Medomsley.
“Only Neville Husband and Lesley Johnson were convicted. The others, and there are undoubtedly others, are still at liberty.
“They must be caught, prosecuted and sent to jail for their heinous crimes.”
Medomsley Detention Centre in County Durham has been at the centre
of a sex abuse scandal after former guard, Neville Husband, was found
guilty of the mass rape of boys under his care.
The sickening assaults took place over a period of nearly 15 years during the 1970s and 80s.
Husband was eventually snared and jailed for 12 years. Also jailed
was Lesley Johnson, a store man at Medomsley, who went down for six
years.
Both are now dead.
Police are probing new claims that Husband and Johnson were not
acting alone and that the rape of young inmates was systematically
carried out in various other locations outside Medomsley by a larger
group of sexual predators.
The horrific crimes were initially thought to have taken place
solely inside the centre and at the home Husband shared with his wife
and young son.
John was sent to Medomsley for nine months after being found guilty of a break-in at a jewellers in Scarborough.
He was raped by Husband nearly every day during his detention.
Apart from the physical abuse, he had to deal with the mental torture of what was happening to him.
After his release he buried the sickening experience at Medomsley in
the back of his mind and set about building a new life for himself.
John, who is now happily married with three children, last year
summoned up the courage to contact Durham Police, who launched an
investigation.
However, the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to take any
further action against Husband, stating it was not in the public
interest to do so.
John said: “I was devastated by this decision.
“My last hope for justice was to approach my local MP Michael McCann.
“Thankfully Michael gave me his full support and with his help I went to the police again.
“After he campaigned for a new investigation, including raising the
matter direct with David Cameron at Prime Minister’s Questions, the case
was re-opened.
“I am completely confident the authorities will carry out a full
investigation into what happened at Medomsley because they are now
convinced that Husband and Johnson were not acting alone.”
A victim of sexual abuse at a North East detention centre
has called for an independent inquiry as police re-open an investigation
into the facility
Ray Poar, who was a victim of paedophile Neville Husband
A victim of sexual abuse at a North East detention centre has called
for an independent inquiry as police re-open an investigation into the
facility.
Ray Poar, now 52, was 17 when he was sent to Medomsley Detention Centre, near Consett, in County Durham in 1976.
Within
24 hours, he was targeted by predatory prison guard Neville Husband,
who was a serial abuser of young boys. It was only when Ray secured a
transfer to another facility that he was able to escape the abuse.
The
father has waived his legal right to anonymity to call for an
independent inquiry into abuse at Medomsley and encourage other victims
to come forward.
It is believed hundreds of young boys were preyed
on at Medomsley in the 1970s and 1980s, and senior detectives at Durham
Constabulary last week announced they have re-opened the 10-year-old
investigation.
As a teenager, Ray was immediately separated from
the others to work in the kitchen at Medomsley before Husband caught him
taking marzipan from his office to give to another boy.
It was
here the prison guard, who before his death in 2010 was convicted of
molesting nine different boys, launched an attack on the teen.
“When
I said ‘no’, he started squeezing my neck as hard as he could,” said
Ray. “He just kept squeezing and squeezing until I was passing out and I
thought I was going to die.
“He was saying in my ear, ‘You could disappear from here, nobody would care and nobody would know’.
“It was absolutely terrifying. I didn’t know what to do, I felt sick.”
The
next day, Ray was kept back in the kitchen and raped by Poar in the
store room. “From then on it just got worse,” said Ray, who is now a
husband and father and lives in Cheshire.
“I couldn’t tell anybody and I wanted him to know that I wouldn’t tell anybody. I really believed that he could kill me.
“I
was in total despair, I didn’t know what he was going to do next. After
that, it was mainly shame that made me not tell anybody.
“I thought that because I didn’t put up a fight it was my fault so I kept it all to myself.” Neville Husband
For years, Ray blamed himself, eventually suffering a nervous
breakdown and attempting to take his own life, coming within inches of
jumping in a swollen river.
Husband, from Shotley Bridge, County
Durham, became a minister of Brighton Road and Cromer Avenue URC
churches in Gateshead after 27 years in the prison service.
It was not until 2003, when Husband was first convicted, that Ray contacted police.
Ray
and solicitor David Greenwood, who is representing 35 alleged victims,
are calling for an independent inquiry into the facility.
It is
suspected Husband and store man Leslie Johnson, who was also convicted
of sexual offences at the centre, were part of a wider paedophile ring.
Husband was jailed for 12 years and Johnson for six.
Many
victims have claimed compensation from the Home Office for what they
suffered at the Government detention centre. Ray also believes some
officers were aware of the abuse and did not act. “I went over and over
again in my head how I could have stopped it,” said Ray.
“All those people who could have stopped it, never did and they are still walking free.”
Mr
Greenwood said: “The people that I have spoken to are convinced there
are other people out there who either haven’t heard about the
investigation or who are reluctant to come forward for various reasons.
“But
my clients are determined it won’t go away until a proper, full
root-and-branch investigation into what was going on at Medomsley is
carried out. It is clear that hundreds of boys could have been exposed
to sexual abuse.”
Det Supt Paul Goundry, in charge of Durham
Police child protection, encouraged victims to get in touch as the force
revisits the investigation.
He said: “Every avenue will be explored and we’ll do our utmost to bring perpetrators to justice.
"If
there were officers who ignored evidence about a paedophile ring at
Medomsley then they will be traced and investigated too.”
Detention centre paedophile ring inquiry: Second rape victim speaks of systematic torture in borstal
15 Aug 2013 00:00
He said his humiliation included being bound by the neck and being photographed as he was routinely attacked
Complaint: Kevin Young spoke of horrors Complaint: Kevin Young spoke of horrors
Paul Kingston / North News
A
second victim of a suspected borstal paedophile ring accused his
attackers of torture yesterday.
And Kevin Young, now 53, says he reported the sex attacks but was
ignored.
Kevin said: “The treatment we received was nothing short of torture in
its truest form.
"A uniformed person while in charge of others carrying out acts of
degrading physical and mental torture.”
Kevin said his humiliation included being bound by the neck and being
photographed as he was routinely attacked.
The Mirror yesterday revealed how his and other claims of violent
paedophile prison officers raping young boys at the Medomsley Detention
Centre are under investigation after an alleged cover-up.
After pushing for an inquiry for 20 years, Kevin welcomed the police’s
new probe but was wary because his complaints were rejected.
He was sent to the County Durham detention centre in 1977 aged 17 after
being caught with a stolen watch.
He said: “The judge said he was sending me to Medomsley where my
character would be improved.
"I would come out a better, stronger, law-abiding citizen. Within days
of arriving I was being seriously raped and assaulted.
“I was put into a sick bay where I was locked up and my neck ligatured.
It was three months of absolute hell.”
“This was torture day in day out. The victims are being silenced. People
have been left so shredded there is nothing left.
“They are just shadows, nothing more.”
Police fear hundreds of young men were assaulted at the centre in the
70s and 80s.
At least four other prison officers were involved, along with
individuals outside the centre, they suspect.
Kevin said he suffered at the hands of seven abusers, including prison
officer Neville Husband who was jailed for 12 years for the mass rape of
boys in his care.
Originally
from South Shields but now living in York, Kevin was released in June
1977, the day before his 18th birthday.
He ran straight from the home to Consett Police Station station but says
he was threatened with arrest for making his allegations of being
strangled, bound and raped every day by a ring of officers.
A police officer is believed to have covered-up the complaint after
Kevin’s paperwork was destroyed.
Waiving his right to anonymity yesterday, Kevin said: “I didn’t want to
be referred to as Mr A or Mr B. I’m Kevin Young.
"This is what went on and it was covered up.”
East Kilbride MP Michael McCann has pushed for the case to be re-opened
after his constituent John McCabe, who said he was raped by Husband,
told him how his bid for justice hit a dead end.
Mr McCann said: “We both know young men attempted to report abuse 30
years ago but were let down by the authorities.
“That will not happen this time.”
John
McCabe Brave: John McCabe suffered horrific abuse
Stuart Nicol
Only Husband and storeman Lesley Johnson were jailed for abuse. Both men
are now dead.
The authorities believe many more attackers remain at large.
Around 26 victims are thought to have come forward.
Some have already been awarded damages without an apology by the
Ministry of Justice.
Mr McCabe said: “I urge others to come forward and help police build a
case. Please don’t suffer in silence.”
Det Supt Paul Goundry, in charge of Durham Police child protection,
said: “Every avenue will be explored and we’ll do our utmost to bring
perpetrators to justice.
"If there were officers who ignored evidence at Medomsley then they will
be traced and investigated too.
“You’ll be dealt with sensitively by a trained professional.”
Anyone with information should contact Durham Police about the investigation on 101.
Detectives have launched a new investigation into a former youth
detention centre in County Durham amid allegations that hundreds of
young inmates may have been systematically abused there in the 1970s and
80s.
Appeal for information relating to historic abuse case
Detective Superintendent Paul Goundy, Durham Police.
Investigation into former youth detention centre
Detectives have launched a new investigation into a former youth
detention centre in County Durham amid allegations that hundreds of
young inmates may have been systematically abused there in the 1970s and
80s.
Two men have already been convicted of abusing teenagers at the Medomsley Detention Centre, which has now been demolished.
Former prison officer Neville Husband was jailed in 2003 for abusing
boys in his care. A store man at the borstal was also jailed.
But police suspect other people may have been involved and that there
might be many more victims. They are appealing for anyone with new
information to come forward.
Police
have reopened a 10-year-old investigation into sexual abuse at a former
County Durham detention centre, which saw two staff jailed.
Church minister Neville Husband, who worked at Medomsley
juvenile detention centre as a prison officer and store man Leslie
Johnson were jailed in 2003.
The pair, both now dead, were convicted of sexually abusing inmates.
Durham Police has now reopened the investigation after a former inmate claimed he was also abused.
John McCabe, from East Kilbride in Scotland, who has waived
his right to anonymity, said he was also a victim of Husband at the
now-closed institution.
Mr McCabe said the abuse took place 30 years ago when Husband
recruited him to work in the kitchen, and that he also took him out of
Medomsley, where he was raped by another man. 'Vulnerable young people'
Durham detectives are now reinvestigating the claims and have appealed for any other abuse victims to come forward.
Det Supt Paul Goundry said: "The investigation will put
victims at the heart of the inquiry, but at the same time we would like
to hear from anyone who has new information about Medomsley and any
abuse that occurred either inside, or when inmates were taken off-site.
"Those who carried out the abuse preyed on some very
vulnerable young people and left many of them with mental scars which
have lasted a lifetime.
Neville Husband was jailed for abusing male inmates in 2003
"While we contacted and took statements from a number of
victims as part of this investigation, we believe there are others who
for whatever reason have never come forward.
"It is those people we are now asking to contact us and pass
on any information about what took place during their time at Medomsley,
whether it happened at the centre or elsewhere."
Medomsley closed in the late 1980s after the abuse came to light and has since reopened as a secure training centre.
During his 2003 trial, Newcastle Crown Court heard Husband,
who became a minister in the United Reformed Church after 27 years in
the prison service, had used his position of authority to systematically
abuse his victims between 1974 and 1984.
The male inmates, who were aged between 16 and 19 at the
time, had been picked by Husband to work in the kitchens, where he would
sometimes "blatantly" indecently assault them or take them away for
abuse in secret.
He was jailed for 12 years. Johnson was sentenced to six years at a separate trial.
Source BBC News
