MSP calls for public inquiry into historical child abuse

MSP calls for public inquiry into historical child abuse

MSP calls for public inquiry into historical child abuse
30 April 2014 Last updated at 18:41

Scottish Labour MSP Graeme Pearson asked the Scottish government to consider holding a public inquiry into historical child abuse, during a member's debate on 30 April 2014.

The member for South of Scotland said that the survivors of abuse deserved action and that "we have a responsibility to answer clearly and simply the demands of survivors."

Mr Pearson added: "If there is to be no response akin to a Northern Ireland public inquiry will the minister explain why?

Will the government reconsider their decision now?" Community Safety and Legal Affairs Minister Roseanna Cunningham replied that the issue was a very complicated one and "some victims expressly didn't want a public inquiry".

Ms Cunningham also said: "Concerns around the issue of an inquiry included it might take a very long time, the outcomes might not offer tangible support, that it might be expensive, and that it would have the potential for conflict and further trauma."

The minister, however, accepted that such an inquiry could be held in the future should it be deemed to be the best way forward.

Survivors songs Written Ray Poar.

The government's plans to lock up girls with their babies

Friday, 16 May 2014 12:51 PM

Frances Crook: "A prison within a prison, for children with children."

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By Frances Crook
Before this week there were only two details that we knew about the Ministry of Justice plans for a 'secure college' – that it would be the biggest child prison in the country and that staff would be able to restrain children for 'good order and discipline'. Beyond the semantics, this means that officers could use physical force to get children to do what they’re told, a practice found to be illegal in the past.

One of the most controversial aspects of the proposals is to incarcerate girls and boys together: only five per cent of children behind bars are girls. We know that girls in the criminal justice system have disproportionately horrific backgrounds of rape, sexual abuse, domestic violence and exploitation. This is why the only people who think it is a good idea to dump a few damaged girls into a super-sized prison dominated by boys are in the government.

In response to concerted questioning on the safety of this scheme, the prisons minister, Jeremy Wright, attempted to reassure the House of Commons during a debate on the proposals this week. And that is how we learnt the third detail of the secure college:  the ‘complex needs’ of these girls would be acknowledged by creating a mother and baby unit.  A prison within a prison, for children with children.

Aside from being fundamentally inhumane, this is a bizarre response to meeting girls' underlying needs and an admission that the Ministry of Justice doesn’t know how to keep them safe.

When you have big institutions, the girls are at risk of sexual assault and exploitation. More subtly than this, it is not just about the levels of violence – sexual, or otherwise – it is that girls cannot flourish because there are so few of them and the institution is designed by men for men. It was only a few years ago that girls were removed from G4S Oakhill secure training centre because of the levels of violence: girls have never been incarcerated there since.

This will be a prison with perhaps 20 girls and 300 boys, supervised by very few poorly-trained staff.  Is the plan for a mother and baby unit an admission of despair? The horrific stories of sexual abuse of children in Medomsley where more than 600 boys appear to have been the victims of sexual abuse by staff are only just emerging. Who will take responsibility in decades to come when we find that the Titan prison was a centre of sexual abuse and violence?

If the government really wants to transform youth custody, it needs to look at what works to keep children safe. First and foremost, this is where children will live. It is a home. The evidence shows that small intensively-staffed environments holding not more than 10 children, keep children safe and address their behaviour.  In such a well-resourced environment, and with a balanced ratio between girls and boys, then it can be possible to mix the genders in a safe way.  Secure children’s homes already provide this for the handful of children who require custody: we do not need to reinvent the wheel, we should invest money into what is already working.

Yet the government is ploughing on with its Titan mistake and still intends to gamble children’s lives and more than £80 million of taxpayers' money. The Ministry of Justice has blocked Howard League research into sex behind bars, which covers consensual and coercive sex in prisons as well as child sexual development. It is all too easy to turn a blind eye to the realities and risks of prison.

But if a girl becomes pregnant in the secure college, then the government has planned for that. There’ll be a specially adapted cell for her and her baby.

Frances Crook is chief executive of the Howard League for Penal Reform, the oldest penal reform charity in the United Kingdom.

Source 

MEDOMSLEY DETENTION CENTRE UPDATE: 650 + Victims Contact Durham's OPERATION SEABROOK

Slowly but surely the numbers have risen to 650 plus, I believe more are still coming forward at around half a dozen a week.

Officer specially trained in areas of abuse are receiving statements from victims who for many years have tried in vain to forget.

Horrendous accounts that have taken it's toll on officer, victims and all those who are supporting the men involved.

It is indeed a credit to the modern approach to victims of historic abuse displayed by the care structures and support offered by the Seabrook investigation team of Durham Constabulary that so many have been able to unburden themselves to some degree after so many years of fearing they would not be believed.

The "system" back then was very different to what it is today and by that token the police are also very different to what they were 40 year's ago, as is the prison service.

The Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) is Det Supt Paul Goundry, with Det Chief Insp Brad Howe as the deputy SIO. Marian Garland, a former detective has been appointed victim co-ordinator and can be contacted directly via marian.garland@durham.pnn.police.uk

The following organisations can be contacted independently of the police for support .

NSPCC FREEPHONE HELPLINE (24 hrs):
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children                                                                                    0808 800 5000
The helpline is available for anyone who has concerns about a child or anyone including adults who wish to discuss their own experience of abuse as a child or young person.
Contact can also be made via e mail : help@nspcc.org.uk  or by text 88858
Contact can be made anonymously if the caller so wishes.

NAPAC
National Association for People Abused in ChildhoodFreephone (from landline or a Virgin, Orange or 3 mobile) 0800 085 3330.
If you are calling from a mobile provided by O2, Vodafone or T-Mobile an alternative freephone number is 0808 801 0331. This is not a 24 hr service 

The Meadows:
The Meadows Sexual Assault Referral Centre (Darlington and Co Durham) 0191 301 8554
The Meadows will accept calls between the hours of 9am-3.30 pm Monday to Friday and can arrange one-to-one counselling sessions and can make referrals to similar centres throughout the UK.
Counselling does not involve discussing what has happened in relation to the assault, it aims to help you work through your feelings to aid the healing process.
Staff at the Meadows will not contact the police without your consent unless there are current concerns in respect of a child or vulnerable adult. 

Hundreds claim abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre

 














Published on the 12 May 2014 11:00
 
MORE than 600 inmates of a former detention centre at the heart of a major police inquiry have come forward claiming they were victims of abuse.

Dozens of Wearsiders are among those who have contacted officers investigating the former Medomsley Detention Centre.

Police are continuing to take calls from those who claim they were physically or sexually abused by staff members between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s

Last August Durham police announced it was opening a new investigation into allegations inmates at the Home Office-run centre were either sexually or physically abused at Medomsley.

An earlier investigation led to a former catering officer at the centre, Neville Husband, being jailed in 2003 for abusing a number of young men over a period of time. He died in 2010, after his release from prison. The detention centre housed young men from across the region and Scotland, including many from Wearside.

Several ex-inmates from the city have contacted the Echo to say they were attacked during their time at the centre.

Earlier this year, the Echo revealed claims from Ian Farrer, of Castletown, Sunderland, who was 17 when he was sentenced to four months at the centre in February 1987 for handling stolen goods.

The 45-year-old claimed he was attacked by a prison warden in the centre’s exercise yard where he received “a massive blow to my kidneys”.

All those who have contacted the police regarding the investigation are being steered towards the appropriate support and counselling.

Source 

Plus a comment worth noting.

Rate:

JM09

5:47 PM on 12/05/2014

Reply to alfas:

Your comment' with regards to " If they didn't do the crime- they wouldn't be here ? Stealing milk from a doorstep ? Sweets from a shop ? 1st time offences ? And you believe they're punishment should be Sexually Abused ? Psychically & Mentally Tortured ? Scarred for Life ?

If you are a parent' take note of this ! 

The Victims that have bravely came forward' Have began removing Peadophilles from your Community that were still at large today' as they were in the 70's & 80's ! 

Ask yourself this question and thank yourselves' how lucky you and other Children have been.

Q. If the Paedophiles could not abuse those in Medomsley' who would they have targeted ? The 12 year old girl' abused by Neville Husband - Am I to believe, your reply to this would be' If the girl did not go to church, it would not have happened ? 

These Perpetrators who abused in Medomsley were also members of your local Churches and Community activities' Scouts, Boys brigade ! 

The so called 600 victims' who have come forward' were not all related to Medomsley, but were Abused by the same Peadophile ring. 

You should remove your comments ASAP ! 

For the respect of the victims, who have courageously came forward to help remove this Vermin from preying at this present time in your Community.

Operation Seabrook - Medomsley Detention Centre

01/05/2014

​ ‘Operation Seabrook’ is the major criminal investigation into allegations of serious sexual and physical abuse perpetrated by staff against detainees at Medomsley Detention Centre near Consett, County Durham.

The abuse is alleged to have happened over a period of many years, principally the 1970's and 1980's. 
The investigative team has now heard from more than 550 former inmates at Medomsley who have reported they were abused while detained at the centre.

A BBC 'Inside Out' programme on the case was broadcast at the end of January 2014 and remains available to view via the BBC website.

Durham Constabulary would like anyone who has suffered abuse or has information which may assist the enquiry to contact them on 101 or 0345 60 60 365.

The caller’s details will be referred to the ‘Operation Seabrook’ team. Further contact and investigation will then be carried out by specialist detectives who are highly trained and experienced in dealing with sensitive abuse cases.

The Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) is Det Supt Paul Goundry, with Det Chief Insp Brad Howe as the deputy SIO. Marian Garland, a former detective has been appointed victim co-ordinator and can be contacted directly via marian.garland@durham.pnn.police.uk


Durham Constabulary is working with a number of organisations to provide the best possible support for victims. Access to support is available without the need to contact the police for those who feel unable to do so.

Independent Psychotherapist Zoe Lodrick

The following organisations can be contacted independently of the police for support .

NSPCC FREEPHONE HELPLINE (24 hrs):
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children                                                                                    0808 800 5000
The helpline is available for anyone who has concerns about a child or anyone including adults who wish to discuss their own experience of abuse as a child or young person.
Contact can also be made via e mail : help@nspcc.org.uk  or by text 88858
Contact can be made anonymously if the caller so wishes.

NAPAC
National Association for People Abused in ChildhoodFreephone (from landline or a Virgin, Orange or 3 mobile) 0800 085 3330.
If you are calling from a mobile provided by O2, Vodafone or T-Mobile an alternative freephone number is 0808 801 0331. This is not a 24 hr service 

The Meadows:
The Meadows Sexual Assault Referral Centre (Darlington and Co Durham) 0191 301 8554
The Meadows will accept calls between the hours of 9am-3.30 pm Monday to Friday and can arrange one-to-one counselling sessions and can make referrals to similar centres throughout the UK.
Counselling does not involve discussing what has happened in relation to the assault, it aims to help you work through your feelings to aid the healing process.
Staff at the Meadows will not contact the police without your consent unless there are current concerns in respect of a child or vulnerable adult. 

Police Launch Paedophile Ring Investigation at Detention Centre

Police have launched an investigation into an alleged paedophile ring at a notorious youth detention centre.

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 caught 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.

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.

However, police are probing sensational 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.

This new investigation was launched thanks to the brave testimony of a 49-year-old East Kilbride man who was one of Husband’s young victims.

John McCabe was just 17 when he 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 revolting experience at Medomsley in the back of his mind and set about building a new life for himself.

John is now happily married with three children.

He was reminded of his former nightmare when he saw an image of Husband on a roller ticker on his PC whilst researching work information 2009.

Within a week, John 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.

“I was really down and my last hope for justice was to approach my local MP, Michael McCann, who’d been a classmate at secondary school in East Kilbride.

“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 Ministers questions,  the case was re-opened.

“After meeting the authorities on 12 August in Durham Police HQ I am completely confident they will carry out a full investigation into what happened at Medomsley because they are now convinced that Husband and Johnson were not acting alone.

“In addition, they are now taking seriously the claims that the rapes and other abuse took place in a number of locations, which until now had not been identified.”

Local MP Michael McCann said: “I have known John since 1976 when we started high school together.
“He 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 therefore 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.

“And last week we launched our appeal through Mirror Group newspapers and local ITV stations advising the public that the investigation has been formally re-opened and calling for information about the events that took place thirty years ago.

“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.”

Detective Supt Paul Goundry, head of safeguarding for Durham Constabulary said; “Durham Constabulary previously carried out a major investigation into sexual abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre which in 2003 resulted in a member of staff, Neville Husband being convicted and sent to jail for his crimes. He preyed on some of the most vulnerable children and young people in our society and left many of them with mental scars which have lasted a lifetime.

“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 have now asked to contact us and pass on any information about what took place during their time at Medomsley, whether it happened at the centre or off-site.

“I have assured them we have experienced officers on hand to talk to them and they will be treated with the utmost sensitivity. What happened at Medomsley was organised abuse on a large scale and we are committed to ensuring every victim feels they have had the opportunity to speak. Throughout our enquiries we will be in constant touch with the CPS who will ultimately advise on whether there are grounds to bring criminal charges.

“John has shown great bravery in giving up his right to anonymity and talking about the abuse he suffered. I hope that by doing so he will encourage others to come forward and pass on any information they have. ”

Source Michael McCann MP