A MAN who claims he was repeatedly raped and abused while at Haut de la Garenne says the building should be pulled down.
Peter Hannaford (59) spent the first 12 years of his life as an orphan at the former children’s home. Mr Hannaford, who is chairman of the Manual Workers Joint Council at the Transport and General Workers Union, has spoken publicly for the first time about his alleged harrowing experiences at the home. ‘The building has got to be erased from the ground and erased from people’s memories,’ he said. Mr Hannaford is one of the alleged victims who has spoken to Jersey police about the alleged abuse which is said to date back to the 1960s.He said that he was raped and abused from his earliest memories to when he was 12 years old.
He now wants ‘justice’ for all the children who were at Haut de la Garenne.
http://www.thisisjersey.com/news/shownewsarticle.pl?ArticleID=101173
Jersey care home abuse victim: I was locked up..
A victim of the Jersey care home of horror told today how she was drugged, beaten and sexually assaulted by staff as officials turned a blind eye when she begged for help.
The mother-of-two - known as Pamela - was given heavy doses of valium at Haut de la Garenne and sexually assaulted dozens of times between 1973 and 1975. She described how children would cower in their beds while staff held drunken parties where they would stumble into the dormitories to select "weak" children to rape.
Depraved workers would offer cigarettes and alcohol to teenagers in return for sex acts - and rape was "rife" among both boys and girls, the woman claims. Now aged 49, the victim described being locked naked in tiny 10 sq ft "punishment" cells for the smallest misdemeanour - often for days at a time.
Her revelations came as excavation work at the Haut de la Garenne was suspended for a structural survey to be carried out.
Officers at the former children's home are focusing on a bricked-up cellar after the discovery on Saturday of a child's skull but it is understood that work cannot start on the cellar until the survey is completed.
A spokesman for Jersey Police said: "There has been a respite in the operation at Haut de la Garenne while the investigating officers seek the advice of a structural engineer in respect of gaining access to a section of the home.
"The States of Jersey Police would like to emphasise that all that has been recovered so far from the site are the partial remains of what is believed to have been a child."
The remains discovered at the weekend were pinpointed by a sniffer dog at the weekend. The dog has also identified several other areas of interest.
Pamela, who still lives in Jersey, is one of several victims who have now come forward to reveal the true horror of how children staying at the home were treated.
She claims officials ignored pleas for help when children reported abuse - and offered little explanation if a child disappeared.
Most chillingly, she recalls "constant" building work in the cellar - where police continued to smashed their way into a bricked-up dungeon in the hunt for more remains.
Pamela said: "The things that happened there are indescribable - the most cruel, sadistic and evil acts you could think of.
"What makes it worse is that these acts were practiced on very vulnerable and often troubled children who had nowhere to go and nobody to turn to for help.
"I remember one of the men who abused me being a big man who smelled sweaty and was often drunk. He touched me and I tried to fight him off.
"I often woke up with a massive headache and bruises over my body after being drugged. I was abused and assaulted.
"My most vivid memory is the 'punishment room'. I was sent there if I slipped up in any way - not eating all of my dinner, looking at one of the staff in a funny way, basically any excuse they could find.
"The room was about three metres wide and four metres long and had a foam mattress and single window with no curtain in it.
"If the sun was shining through the window there was no ventilation and it became suffocating."
Pamela described one occasion when she ran away but was caught and thrown into the "punishment room" by two male members of staff.
She said: "They ripped the clothes from my body, threw me to the floor and pulled my hair.
"When I fought back a female staff member came in and gave me a huge dose of valium, that knocked me out, and sexually assaulted me. I was always being drugged.
"It was the most serious forms of sexual abuse. The staff knew how to pick out the weak ones - I think they went through their records - and rape was rife in all ages, both boys and girls.
"We would tell each other what happened and we all knew what was going on. There was nothing we could do for each other.
"Some weekends they held staff parties and other people who weren't staff would come and drink at the home.
"I don't know who came but all of us would try and lie very still in our beds and not attract attention. They came and got kids and took them away for a while."
Pamela was sent to Haut de la Garenne - then a home for boys and girls - aged 13 by a court order after officials learned her mother had a history of violence towards her.
She said she was marked as a "troublesome" youngster and prescribed the drug Valium after making several attempts to escape from the institution.
Pamela took to self-harming in the belief she could threaten the staff into stopping the abusive treatment and stills bears white scars across her face and inner arms.
She said some male and female staff were like "predators" and seemed to "get off" on creating situations for sadistic pleasures.
"They would exchange cigarettes and alcohol in return for doing things to them, and walk into the showers whenever they felt like it to look at us," she said.
"Sometimes they would walk past and just pretend to accidentally grab you on the breast or down below."
Pamela also described how she and friends would explore amongst the foundations of the Victorian orphanage - a site now of "significant interest" to forensic officers.
She said: "There were some bricks missing from the wall at the side and if you were skinny you could wriggle under and crawl into the area beneath the floor.
"There wasn't anything there then and it was like a secret place, but I understand it was redeveloped as a cellar and bricked up so you couldn't get down there."
In 1974 Pamela claims she went to authorities - including the head of Haut de la Garenne - and asked for help but her pleas were ignored.
After two years in the home her self-harming reached a higher level and, when one of her abusers advanced on her, she cut both sides of her face with a razor.
She was moved from the children's home to a local psychiatric unit in 1975, which she left one year later at the age of 16.
Amongst her painful memories Pamela recalls the staff's "nonchalant" attitude to child runaways and said they were often given little explanation when residents left.
She said: "There were foster homes and adoption agencies so they just said that was where they'd gone, and we believed them.
"Lots of people disappeared and ran away - it was part of life there because nobody really wanted to be there.
"I wasn't surprised when they found a child's body, I almost felt like it was inevitable considering what went on there."
In December 2007 police officers investigating the alleged child sex ring contacted Pamela and she has been helping them with the inquiry ever since.
She spoke out as a 74-year-old former resident released photos of the care home where he lived for ten years in the 1940s after his mother died when he was just six.
He decided to take photographs of the dormitories and courtyard in 2003 after he read of plans to renovate the property into a 100-bedroomed youth hostel.
The former resident said: "When I was there it was just bullying. I didn't see any sexual abuse. It all changed apparently in the 1960s when new staff arrived.
"It was an important building in my life and when I heard it was turning into a Youth Hostel and I went back with my camera. I wanted to remember it how it was."
A sniffer dog found the remains of the child, hidden in several inches of concrete at the weekend.
The grim find was made in a corridor leading off a central courtyard and among the remains was a girl's hair clasp.
The trained dogs also identified another six areas of interest, fuelling fears there may be several more bodies buried in the cellar.
More than 1,000 children are thought to have lived in the 60-bed home from the early 1950s until its closure in the mid-1980s.
The investigation involves several government institutions and organisations in Jersey, the home and Jersey Sea Cadets.
It is centred on the abuse of boys and girls aged between 11 and 15, since the 1960s but remains are thought to date from the early 1980s.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=518791&in_page_id=1770
The mother-of-two - known as Pamela - was given heavy doses of valium at Haut de la Garenne and sexually assaulted dozens of times between 1973 and 1975. She described how children would cower in their beds while staff held drunken parties where they would stumble into the dormitories to select "weak" children to rape.
Depraved workers would offer cigarettes and alcohol to teenagers in return for sex acts - and rape was "rife" among both boys and girls, the woman claims. Now aged 49, the victim described being locked naked in tiny 10 sq ft "punishment" cells for the smallest misdemeanour - often for days at a time.
Her revelations came as excavation work at the Haut de la Garenne was suspended for a structural survey to be carried out.
Officers at the former children's home are focusing on a bricked-up cellar after the discovery on Saturday of a child's skull but it is understood that work cannot start on the cellar until the survey is completed.
A spokesman for Jersey Police said: "There has been a respite in the operation at Haut de la Garenne while the investigating officers seek the advice of a structural engineer in respect of gaining access to a section of the home.
"The States of Jersey Police would like to emphasise that all that has been recovered so far from the site are the partial remains of what is believed to have been a child."
The remains discovered at the weekend were pinpointed by a sniffer dog at the weekend. The dog has also identified several other areas of interest.
Pamela, who still lives in Jersey, is one of several victims who have now come forward to reveal the true horror of how children staying at the home were treated.
She claims officials ignored pleas for help when children reported abuse - and offered little explanation if a child disappeared.
Most chillingly, she recalls "constant" building work in the cellar - where police continued to smashed their way into a bricked-up dungeon in the hunt for more remains.
Pamela said: "The things that happened there are indescribable - the most cruel, sadistic and evil acts you could think of.
"What makes it worse is that these acts were practiced on very vulnerable and often troubled children who had nowhere to go and nobody to turn to for help.
"I remember one of the men who abused me being a big man who smelled sweaty and was often drunk. He touched me and I tried to fight him off.
"I often woke up with a massive headache and bruises over my body after being drugged. I was abused and assaulted.
"My most vivid memory is the 'punishment room'. I was sent there if I slipped up in any way - not eating all of my dinner, looking at one of the staff in a funny way, basically any excuse they could find.
"The room was about three metres wide and four metres long and had a foam mattress and single window with no curtain in it.
"If the sun was shining through the window there was no ventilation and it became suffocating."
Pamela described one occasion when she ran away but was caught and thrown into the "punishment room" by two male members of staff.
She said: "They ripped the clothes from my body, threw me to the floor and pulled my hair.
"When I fought back a female staff member came in and gave me a huge dose of valium, that knocked me out, and sexually assaulted me. I was always being drugged.
"It was the most serious forms of sexual abuse. The staff knew how to pick out the weak ones - I think they went through their records - and rape was rife in all ages, both boys and girls.
"We would tell each other what happened and we all knew what was going on. There was nothing we could do for each other.
"Some weekends they held staff parties and other people who weren't staff would come and drink at the home.
"I don't know who came but all of us would try and lie very still in our beds and not attract attention. They came and got kids and took them away for a while."
Pamela was sent to Haut de la Garenne - then a home for boys and girls - aged 13 by a court order after officials learned her mother had a history of violence towards her.
She said she was marked as a "troublesome" youngster and prescribed the drug Valium after making several attempts to escape from the institution.
Pamela took to self-harming in the belief she could threaten the staff into stopping the abusive treatment and stills bears white scars across her face and inner arms.
She said some male and female staff were like "predators" and seemed to "get off" on creating situations for sadistic pleasures.
"They would exchange cigarettes and alcohol in return for doing things to them, and walk into the showers whenever they felt like it to look at us," she said.
"Sometimes they would walk past and just pretend to accidentally grab you on the breast or down below."
Pamela also described how she and friends would explore amongst the foundations of the Victorian orphanage - a site now of "significant interest" to forensic officers.
She said: "There were some bricks missing from the wall at the side and if you were skinny you could wriggle under and crawl into the area beneath the floor.
"There wasn't anything there then and it was like a secret place, but I understand it was redeveloped as a cellar and bricked up so you couldn't get down there."
In 1974 Pamela claims she went to authorities - including the head of Haut de la Garenne - and asked for help but her pleas were ignored.
After two years in the home her self-harming reached a higher level and, when one of her abusers advanced on her, she cut both sides of her face with a razor.
She was moved from the children's home to a local psychiatric unit in 1975, which she left one year later at the age of 16.
Amongst her painful memories Pamela recalls the staff's "nonchalant" attitude to child runaways and said they were often given little explanation when residents left.
She said: "There were foster homes and adoption agencies so they just said that was where they'd gone, and we believed them.
"Lots of people disappeared and ran away - it was part of life there because nobody really wanted to be there.
"I wasn't surprised when they found a child's body, I almost felt like it was inevitable considering what went on there."
In December 2007 police officers investigating the alleged child sex ring contacted Pamela and she has been helping them with the inquiry ever since.
She spoke out as a 74-year-old former resident released photos of the care home where he lived for ten years in the 1940s after his mother died when he was just six.
He decided to take photographs of the dormitories and courtyard in 2003 after he read of plans to renovate the property into a 100-bedroomed youth hostel.
The former resident said: "When I was there it was just bullying. I didn't see any sexual abuse. It all changed apparently in the 1960s when new staff arrived.
"It was an important building in my life and when I heard it was turning into a Youth Hostel and I went back with my camera. I wanted to remember it how it was."
A sniffer dog found the remains of the child, hidden in several inches of concrete at the weekend.
The grim find was made in a corridor leading off a central courtyard and among the remains was a girl's hair clasp.
The trained dogs also identified another six areas of interest, fuelling fears there may be several more bodies buried in the cellar.
More than 1,000 children are thought to have lived in the 60-bed home from the early 1950s until its closure in the mid-1980s.
The investigation involves several government institutions and organisations in Jersey, the home and Jersey Sea Cadets.
It is centred on the abuse of boys and girls aged between 11 and 15, since the 1960s but remains are thought to date from the early 1980s.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=518791&in_page_id=1770
Jersey chief minister denies child abuse cover-up
Jersey's chief minister has told island senators that claims of child abuse cases being covered up are false.Frank Walker said in a statement to the Assembly today that there was "no hiding place for anyone who abused children or who in any way may have colluded with abuse".
Former health minister senator Stuart Syvret had previously told journalists that "abuse was covered up for years" on the island.The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) revealed that it has received 63 complaints of abuse since the remains of a child were found at the Haut de la Garenne youth hostel during the weekend.
Twenty-seven of the complaints are now being investigated by police, leaving a "dark cloud" hanging over Jersey, Mr Walker claimed.
"None of us imagined that children in Jersey could have been abused and mistreated in the way that is being suggested," the chief minister said in his statement today. "I express my shock and horror that these things have apparently happened within our island. "Police officers investigating Haut de la Garenne have been forced to temporarily suspend the operation as they seek advice from structural engineers.
The bricked-up cellar of the building has now become the focus of the attention, with six other areas nearby also believed to be of interest.
http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/crime/jersey-chief-minister-denies-child-abuse-cover-up-$1207700.htm
Former health minister senator Stuart Syvret had previously told journalists that "abuse was covered up for years" on the island.The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) revealed that it has received 63 complaints of abuse since the remains of a child were found at the Haut de la Garenne youth hostel during the weekend.
Twenty-seven of the complaints are now being investigated by police, leaving a "dark cloud" hanging over Jersey, Mr Walker claimed.
"None of us imagined that children in Jersey could have been abused and mistreated in the way that is being suggested," the chief minister said in his statement today. "I express my shock and horror that these things have apparently happened within our island. "Police officers investigating Haut de la Garenne have been forced to temporarily suspend the operation as they seek advice from structural engineers.
The bricked-up cellar of the building has now become the focus of the attention, with six other areas nearby also believed to be of interest.
http://www.inthenews.co.uk/news/crime/jersey-chief-minister-denies-child-abuse-cover-up-$1207700.htm
More Jersey abuse witnesses come forward
LONDON (Reuters) - Ten more victims and witnesses of alleged child abuse at a Jersey children's home have come forward since police dug up a child's remains on Saturday, police said.
In all, 150 people who claim they were abused or saw abuse at the Haut de la Garenne home over a period spanning four decades are now being interviewed by police.
Officers dedicated to the 20-strong Historical Abuse Inquiry Team are interviewing people living in Jersey, Britain, Germany and as far afield as Australia about their time at the home.
Police have temporarily stopped excavating a bricked-up cellar and other sites around the house due to structural concerns. They were looking for more bodies after a sniffer dog detected Saturday's remains, thought to date back to the early 1980s.
In a statement to the Assembly, Jersey's Chief Minister Frank Walker said there would be "no hiding place in Jersey for anyone who abused children or who in any way may have colluded with that abuse."
Walker has been criticised by a former health minister, Senator Stuart Syvret, who was sacked last year when he made allegations of child abuse. Syvret told reporters: "the abuse was covered up for years."
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said it has received a spike in calls to its Jersey hotline following the weekend's discovery. So far it has taken 63 complaints, 27 of which have been referred to police.
The search of Haut de la Garenne in St Martin began last Tuesday after police received information from three different sources about the possibility of human remains having been buried there.
Last November, police launched an investigation into alleged child abuse on the island, including at Haut de la Garenne.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKL2517411720080226
In all, 150 people who claim they were abused or saw abuse at the Haut de la Garenne home over a period spanning four decades are now being interviewed by police.
Officers dedicated to the 20-strong Historical Abuse Inquiry Team are interviewing people living in Jersey, Britain, Germany and as far afield as Australia about their time at the home.
Police have temporarily stopped excavating a bricked-up cellar and other sites around the house due to structural concerns. They were looking for more bodies after a sniffer dog detected Saturday's remains, thought to date back to the early 1980s.
In a statement to the Assembly, Jersey's Chief Minister Frank Walker said there would be "no hiding place in Jersey for anyone who abused children or who in any way may have colluded with that abuse."
Walker has been criticised by a former health minister, Senator Stuart Syvret, who was sacked last year when he made allegations of child abuse. Syvret told reporters: "the abuse was covered up for years."
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) said it has received a spike in calls to its Jersey hotline following the weekend's discovery. So far it has taken 63 complaints, 27 of which have been referred to police.
The search of Haut de la Garenne in St Martin began last Tuesday after police received information from three different sources about the possibility of human remains having been buried there.
Last November, police launched an investigation into alleged child abuse on the island, including at Haut de la Garenne.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUKL2517411720080226
Jersey care homes 'covered up abuses'
A former government minister, who last year raised concerns about the treatment of children in Jersey's care homes, today claimed there was a "disgraceful and disgusting failure" to deal with abuse on the island.
Stuart Syvret, health and social services minister until September last year, today described the continuing search for six more bodies at the Haut de la Garenne care home, where a child's remains were found on Saturday, as just the latest example of "a culture of cover-up and concealment".
His comments came as it emerged that Edward Paisnel, a notorious paedophile dubbed the "Beast of Jersey", used to visit Haut de la Garenne dressed as Father Christmas.
Paisnel was jailed for 30 years in 1971 after being convicted of 13 counts of assault, rape and sodomy.
Syvret claimed he was "sacked for whistleblowing" when he was dismissed from his post as health and social services minister in September, shortly after highlighting the "torture" of 11 - 16-year-olds in the island's care homes.
Brandishing an independent report into abuse at a boys' school on the island, Syvret claimed it detailed a "disgraceful and disgusting failure" to deal with abuse which was "carried for years".
He said that one paedophile had been convicted in relation to abuse at the school but that there was a deliberate attempt by certain members of staff and governors to "humiliate and intimidate and force those boys [who had made allegations] into withdrawing their complaints –fortunately they didn't".
Earlier, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "People mustn't necessarily - as bad as it is - be distracted by the Haut de la Garenne story because the real issue here is we are looking at multiple examples of abuse at multiple institutions over a period of decades and decades.
"It's a continuum that we see. It's a culture of cover-up and concealment and tragically the recent evidence is just the latest manifestation of that."
Jersey's chief minister, Frank Walker, who has denied allegations of a cover-up, is to make a statement to the island's parliament today and will face questions about the investigation.
A sniffer dog has identified six possible burial sites in and around the Haut de la Garenne building which closed as a care home in 1986.
Deputy police chief Lenny Harper said yesterday the cellar was a "point of interest", but it has been blocked up and officers have been trying to smash their way in.
Paisnel lived in St Martin, close to Haut de la Garenne, and after his trial, his wife Joan wrote a book claiming Paisnel used to visit the care home to take gifts to the children, who he asked to call him "Uncle Ted".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/feb/26/ukcrime.childprotection1?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront
Stuart Syvret, health and social services minister until September last year, today described the continuing search for six more bodies at the Haut de la Garenne care home, where a child's remains were found on Saturday, as just the latest example of "a culture of cover-up and concealment".
His comments came as it emerged that Edward Paisnel, a notorious paedophile dubbed the "Beast of Jersey", used to visit Haut de la Garenne dressed as Father Christmas.
Paisnel was jailed for 30 years in 1971 after being convicted of 13 counts of assault, rape and sodomy.
Syvret claimed he was "sacked for whistleblowing" when he was dismissed from his post as health and social services minister in September, shortly after highlighting the "torture" of 11 - 16-year-olds in the island's care homes.
Brandishing an independent report into abuse at a boys' school on the island, Syvret claimed it detailed a "disgraceful and disgusting failure" to deal with abuse which was "carried for years".
He said that one paedophile had been convicted in relation to abuse at the school but that there was a deliberate attempt by certain members of staff and governors to "humiliate and intimidate and force those boys [who had made allegations] into withdrawing their complaints –fortunately they didn't".
Earlier, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "People mustn't necessarily - as bad as it is - be distracted by the Haut de la Garenne story because the real issue here is we are looking at multiple examples of abuse at multiple institutions over a period of decades and decades.
"It's a continuum that we see. It's a culture of cover-up and concealment and tragically the recent evidence is just the latest manifestation of that."
Jersey's chief minister, Frank Walker, who has denied allegations of a cover-up, is to make a statement to the island's parliament today and will face questions about the investigation.
A sniffer dog has identified six possible burial sites in and around the Haut de la Garenne building which closed as a care home in 1986.
Deputy police chief Lenny Harper said yesterday the cellar was a "point of interest", but it has been blocked up and officers have been trying to smash their way in.
Paisnel lived in St Martin, close to Haut de la Garenne, and after his trial, his wife Joan wrote a book claiming Paisnel used to visit the care home to take gifts to the children, who he asked to call him "Uncle Ted".
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/feb/26/ukcrime.childprotection1?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront
Jersey Police focus on cellar
Police are continuing their excavation of a bricked-up cellar at a Jersey property where they found a child's skull.
Officers were alerted to the former children's home Haut de la Garenne after a child abuse investigation launched last November uncovered allegations dating back to the 1960s.
Intelligence from the investigation led police to search the property, and on Saturday the remains of a child were discovered within the former Victorian school and orphanage in St Martin.
A further six sites are to be looked at, including a number of hotspots at the cellar which were identified by a sniffer dog.
All care agencies in Jersey are now being investigated for failing to act over allegations of child abuse.
The island's deputy chief police officer Lenny Harper said: "We are looking at allegations that a number of agencies didn't deal with things as perhaps they should."
The state's ex-health minister Senator Stuart Seyvret has accused the government of a cover-up.
Jersey's Chief Minister Senator Frank Walker promised an investigation but said: "There is no evidence of a high-level cover-up, as alleged by our former health minister."
It has also emerged that paedophile Edward Paisnel - dubbed the Beast of Jersey - used to visit Haut de la Garenne dressed as Father Christmas to deliver toys and sweets to the children.
He was jailed for thirty years in 1971 after being convicted of 13 counts of assault, rape and sodomy.
Paisnel avoided capture for ten years because he was a respected businessman, husband and guardian of several foster children.
Police have said they are not connecting Paisnel - who died in 1994 - to the current inquiry.
The only person to be charged so far is Gordon Wateridge, a 76-year-old who worked at Haut de la Garenne between 1969 and 1979 and is charged with three offences of indecent assault on girls under 16.
A special free helpline was set up by the NSPCC at the request of the police and they received 63 calls from adults reporting physical, sexual and emotional abuse dating back to the 1970s and 1980s
http://itn.co.uk/news/2e25902d10b290b82d7132b16edf548d.html
Officers were alerted to the former children's home Haut de la Garenne after a child abuse investigation launched last November uncovered allegations dating back to the 1960s.
Intelligence from the investigation led police to search the property, and on Saturday the remains of a child were discovered within the former Victorian school and orphanage in St Martin.
A further six sites are to be looked at, including a number of hotspots at the cellar which were identified by a sniffer dog.
All care agencies in Jersey are now being investigated for failing to act over allegations of child abuse.
The island's deputy chief police officer Lenny Harper said: "We are looking at allegations that a number of agencies didn't deal with things as perhaps they should."
The state's ex-health minister Senator Stuart Seyvret has accused the government of a cover-up.
Jersey's Chief Minister Senator Frank Walker promised an investigation but said: "There is no evidence of a high-level cover-up, as alleged by our former health minister."
It has also emerged that paedophile Edward Paisnel - dubbed the Beast of Jersey - used to visit Haut de la Garenne dressed as Father Christmas to deliver toys and sweets to the children.
He was jailed for thirty years in 1971 after being convicted of 13 counts of assault, rape and sodomy.
Paisnel avoided capture for ten years because he was a respected businessman, husband and guardian of several foster children.
Police have said they are not connecting Paisnel - who died in 1994 - to the current inquiry.
The only person to be charged so far is Gordon Wateridge, a 76-year-old who worked at Haut de la Garenne between 1969 and 1979 and is charged with three offences of indecent assault on girls under 16.
A special free helpline was set up by the NSPCC at the request of the police and they received 63 calls from adults reporting physical, sexual and emotional abuse dating back to the 1970s and 1980s
http://itn.co.uk/news/2e25902d10b290b82d7132b16edf548d.html
Jersey official 'to reveal cover-up': report
JERSEY (AFP) — A former Jersey health minister is set to reveal a "cover-up culture" as police continue to search for bodies around a former children's home on the Channel Island, it was reported Tuesday.
The remains of a child's skeleton were found at the Haut de la Garenne home on Saturday, and sniffer dogs have since identified six other places of interest near the home in the east of the island.
Stuart Syvret, who was sacked as minister for health and social services last year, told BBC News he will publish evidence to show the authorities failed to act on child abuse claims at another site.
According to the BBC, a statement is also expected from Jersey's Chief Minister Frank Walker.
Walker has so far denied Syvret's allegations of "systematic" child abuse on Jersey and said Syvret was fired over the way he reportedly treated staff and colleagues.
As the excavation work at the home continues, one of the spots the police are focusing on is the cellar underneath the building, which was also previously used as an orphanage but is now a youth hostel.
Police began investigating the site after a probe was launched last November into allegations of child abuse dating back to the 1960s.
Jersey's deputy chief police officer, Lenny Harper, said he could not rule out the possibility of more bodies being found.
The remains found so far have been sent to Britain for tests but officers believe they have been there for more than five years.
The investigation into the alleged abuse focuses on the period that Haut de la Garenne was used to accommodate vulnerable children in state care or who had behavioural problems.
Since the discovery of the child's remains, the police has received fresh allegations of abuse on Jersey.
Harper said there was no evidence of a cover-up, but added the investigation would look into claims that allegations of abuse were not properly followed up.
Jersey, located 100 miles south of Britain and 14 miles from the French coast, is a popular holiday destination that has developed in the last three decades into a major offshore banking centre.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jtXOubrht9UYHFRhFQs5CcIOxaPg
The remains of a child's skeleton were found at the Haut de la Garenne home on Saturday, and sniffer dogs have since identified six other places of interest near the home in the east of the island.
Stuart Syvret, who was sacked as minister for health and social services last year, told BBC News he will publish evidence to show the authorities failed to act on child abuse claims at another site.
According to the BBC, a statement is also expected from Jersey's Chief Minister Frank Walker.
Walker has so far denied Syvret's allegations of "systematic" child abuse on Jersey and said Syvret was fired over the way he reportedly treated staff and colleagues.
As the excavation work at the home continues, one of the spots the police are focusing on is the cellar underneath the building, which was also previously used as an orphanage but is now a youth hostel.
Police began investigating the site after a probe was launched last November into allegations of child abuse dating back to the 1960s.
Jersey's deputy chief police officer, Lenny Harper, said he could not rule out the possibility of more bodies being found.
The remains found so far have been sent to Britain for tests but officers believe they have been there for more than five years.
The investigation into the alleged abuse focuses on the period that Haut de la Garenne was used to accommodate vulnerable children in state care or who had behavioural problems.
Since the discovery of the child's remains, the police has received fresh allegations of abuse on Jersey.
Harper said there was no evidence of a cover-up, but added the investigation would look into claims that allegations of abuse were not properly followed up.
Jersey, located 100 miles south of Britain and 14 miles from the French coast, is a popular holiday destination that has developed in the last three decades into a major offshore banking centre.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jtXOubrht9UYHFRhFQs5CcIOxaPg
Jersey 'cover-up faces exposure'
An ex-minister on Jersey says he will expose a "cover-up culture" as searches continue at a former children's home on the island where remains were found.
Police investigators at the Haut de la Garenne home in St Martin are focusing their attention on a bricked-up cellar.
Former health minister Stuart Syvret told BBC News he will publish evidence to show the authorities failed to act on child abuse claims at another site.
A statement from Jersey's chief minister is also expected.
The BBC's Sanchia Berg said Mr Syvret's allegations will relate to a school and a secure unit on the island.
It is understood the police inquiry into allegations of historic abuse in Jersey pre-date these claims.
The senator's allegations that island authorities ignored evidence of abuse of children in its care have been vehemently denied by Jersey's Chief Minister, Senator Frank Walker, who is due to address the island's Assembly later.
He has described Mr Syvet's allegations as "deplorable" and said the ex-minister, who was dismissed from his post last year over the way he is alleged to have treated staff and colleagues in his ministry, was seeking to "politicise" the situation.
Special helpline
The remains of a child were detected by a sniffer dog at Haut de la Garenne on Saturday, and police have identified six more sites of interest have been identified near the former children's home.
Officers were alerted to the site during their investigation into child abuse allegations stemming from the time when the centre was a home for children with behaviour problems.
A special helpline set up by the NSPCC at the request of the police has received 63 calls from adults claiming to have been abused as children on the island.
So far, 27 of those cases have been referred to the authorities for investigation.
Jersey's deputy police chief, Lenny Harper, has said officers are investigating why so many complaints were not dealt with in the past.
Mr Harper said: "Part of the inquiry will be the fact that a lot of the victims tried to report their assaults but for some reason or another they were not dealt with as they should be.
"We are looking at allegations that a number of agencies didn't deal with things as perhaps they should."
He said that so far his officers had uncovered "no evidence of a cover-up of any Jersey government".
Mr Harper said archaeologists and forensic scientists were concentrating on a number of "trenches" at the site where the remains, which include a skull, were found.
Worldwide leads
The information that sparked the excavation had been provided by three sources, he confirmed.
Jersey Police began investigating allegations of abuse in 2006.
Police have identified dozens of possible suspects in connection with the wider inquiry, with detectives following up leads in Europe and as far away as Australia.
The investigation involves several government institutions and organisations, with the Haut de la Garenne home and Jersey Sea Cadets the main focuses of the inquiry.
It is centred on the abuse of boys and girls aged between 11 and 15, since the 1960s.
The excavation of the home, involving sniffer dogs and ground radar, started on Tuesday.
Police are using two springer spaniels - seven-year-old Eddie, who specialises in detecting human remains and was involved in the hunt for missing Madeleine McCann in Portugal; and Keela, three, who is trained to sniff out traces of blood.
Haut de la Garenne started life in 1867 as the Industrial School, for "young people of the lower classes of society and neglected children".
It is now Jersey's Youth Hostel and featured as a police station in the TV series Bergerac, which was set on the island.
Police say it is vital that any alleged victims still unidentified contact the incident room as soon as possible, on 0800 735 7777. There is also an NSPCC helpline on 0800 169 1173 within Jersey, or + 44(0)20 7825 7489 from outside.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/jersey/7264169.stm
Police investigators at the Haut de la Garenne home in St Martin are focusing their attention on a bricked-up cellar.
Former health minister Stuart Syvret told BBC News he will publish evidence to show the authorities failed to act on child abuse claims at another site.
A statement from Jersey's chief minister is also expected.
The BBC's Sanchia Berg said Mr Syvret's allegations will relate to a school and a secure unit on the island.
It is understood the police inquiry into allegations of historic abuse in Jersey pre-date these claims.
The senator's allegations that island authorities ignored evidence of abuse of children in its care have been vehemently denied by Jersey's Chief Minister, Senator Frank Walker, who is due to address the island's Assembly later.
He has described Mr Syvet's allegations as "deplorable" and said the ex-minister, who was dismissed from his post last year over the way he is alleged to have treated staff and colleagues in his ministry, was seeking to "politicise" the situation.
Special helpline
The remains of a child were detected by a sniffer dog at Haut de la Garenne on Saturday, and police have identified six more sites of interest have been identified near the former children's home.
Officers were alerted to the site during their investigation into child abuse allegations stemming from the time when the centre was a home for children with behaviour problems.
A special helpline set up by the NSPCC at the request of the police has received 63 calls from adults claiming to have been abused as children on the island.
So far, 27 of those cases have been referred to the authorities for investigation.
Jersey's deputy police chief, Lenny Harper, has said officers are investigating why so many complaints were not dealt with in the past.
Mr Harper said: "Part of the inquiry will be the fact that a lot of the victims tried to report their assaults but for some reason or another they were not dealt with as they should be.
"We are looking at allegations that a number of agencies didn't deal with things as perhaps they should."
He said that so far his officers had uncovered "no evidence of a cover-up of any Jersey government".
Mr Harper said archaeologists and forensic scientists were concentrating on a number of "trenches" at the site where the remains, which include a skull, were found.
Worldwide leads
The information that sparked the excavation had been provided by three sources, he confirmed.
Jersey Police began investigating allegations of abuse in 2006.
Police have identified dozens of possible suspects in connection with the wider inquiry, with detectives following up leads in Europe and as far away as Australia.
The investigation involves several government institutions and organisations, with the Haut de la Garenne home and Jersey Sea Cadets the main focuses of the inquiry.
It is centred on the abuse of boys and girls aged between 11 and 15, since the 1960s.
The excavation of the home, involving sniffer dogs and ground radar, started on Tuesday.
Police are using two springer spaniels - seven-year-old Eddie, who specialises in detecting human remains and was involved in the hunt for missing Madeleine McCann in Portugal; and Keela, three, who is trained to sniff out traces of blood.
Haut de la Garenne started life in 1867 as the Industrial School, for "young people of the lower classes of society and neglected children".
It is now Jersey's Youth Hostel and featured as a police station in the TV series Bergerac, which was set on the island.
Police say it is vital that any alleged victims still unidentified contact the incident room as soon as possible, on 0800 735 7777. There is also an NSPCC helpline on 0800 169 1173 within Jersey, or + 44(0)20 7825 7489 from outside.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/jersey/7264169.stm
Beating and vile abuse at fortress Haut de la Garenne
For a vulnerable, bewildered child, it must have been terrifying.
Already alone in a scary place, he was then locked in a cold, dark cell and kept alone for two months.
The appalling treatment is revealed in papers seen by a politician turned whistleblower.
Nothing else is known of the victim, not even if he got out alive from fortresslike Haut de la Garenne.
Such stories of cruelty have remained hidden, despite years of rumour.
Former residents claim they were savagely beaten, indecently assaulted or raped by staff. Others say floggings and punches to the head were common.
It has also emerged that in 1966 a 14-year-old hanged himself to escape the suffering.
Police now fear the abuse could date to the 40s after the Victorian building, used as a signal station by Nazi occupiers in the Second World War, became a children's home.
For years it seemed the Jersey authorities were determined to hush it up.
But in September last year William Emslie, a social worker who had worked with youngsters who had lived at Haut de La Garenne before it closed in 1986, spoke out.
He was not the only one. Senator Stuart Syvret, Jersey's ex-minister for health and social services, was sacked last year after voicing concerns about children's services.
He claimed violent abuse in homes had gone on for 60 years, adding: "Documents show children were in solitary for weeks. One for two months.
"Two Haut de la Garenne victims told me of floggings, solitary confinement and of sexual abuse. Cover-ups go to the top."
He was vindicated last November when more than 140 people told an inquiry of harrowing experiences at the home.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/02/26/beating-and-vile-abuse-at-fortress-of-fear-89520-20331965/
Already alone in a scary place, he was then locked in a cold, dark cell and kept alone for two months.
The appalling treatment is revealed in papers seen by a politician turned whistleblower.
Nothing else is known of the victim, not even if he got out alive from fortresslike Haut de la Garenne.
Such stories of cruelty have remained hidden, despite years of rumour.
Former residents claim they were savagely beaten, indecently assaulted or raped by staff. Others say floggings and punches to the head were common.
It has also emerged that in 1966 a 14-year-old hanged himself to escape the suffering.
Police now fear the abuse could date to the 40s after the Victorian building, used as a signal station by Nazi occupiers in the Second World War, became a children's home.
For years it seemed the Jersey authorities were determined to hush it up.
But in September last year William Emslie, a social worker who had worked with youngsters who had lived at Haut de La Garenne before it closed in 1986, spoke out.
He was not the only one. Senator Stuart Syvret, Jersey's ex-minister for health and social services, was sacked last year after voicing concerns about children's services.
He claimed violent abuse in homes had gone on for 60 years, adding: "Documents show children were in solitary for weeks. One for two months.
"Two Haut de la Garenne victims told me of floggings, solitary confinement and of sexual abuse. Cover-ups go to the top."
He was vindicated last November when more than 140 people told an inquiry of harrowing experiences at the home.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/02/26/beating-and-vile-abuse-at-fortress-of-fear-89520-20331965/
Are kids buried in the cellar of the former children's home in Jersey?
sealed cellar in the former children's home at the centre of an alleged abuse scandal was yesterday being dug up in a search for more bodies.
Sniffer dogs trained to find human remains have identified six spots where youngsters may be buried after a child's bones were unearthed at the weekend - in what could be Britain's worst case of systematic abuse.
Deputy police chief Lenny Harper said: "We are concentrating on a cellar. We have had some positive indications from the dog but there could be a number of explanations."
Remains, including a skull, were found under a thick concrete floor at Jersey's Haut de la Garenne on Saturday. They are thought to be of a child aged 11 to 15, dating from the 80s.
A probe of abuse allegations including beatings and rape as far back as the 60s was launched two years ago but only made public in November.
Police were in contact with 140 alleged victims and witnesses but 10 more have come forward since the weekend.
Former residents revealed they were often forced into solitary confinement, but Mr Harper refused to say if the cellar was used for that purpose.
Three ex-residents said they knew children who disappeared.
It has also emerged bones were found at the home - now a youth hostel - by builders five years ago and dismissed as animal remains. But it turns out they were discovered next to children's shoes, which were handed to police.
An excavation team including archaeologists, sniffer dogs and radar equipment expanded its search in the grounds yesterday.
Accusations that authorities did not investigate abuse complaints properly are also being probed. But police insisted there was no evidence of a cover-up.
Mr Harper said: "We are looking at allegations that agencies did not deal with things as perhaps they should."
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/02/26/are-kids-buried-in-the-cellar-89520-20331964/
Sniffer dogs trained to find human remains have identified six spots where youngsters may be buried after a child's bones were unearthed at the weekend - in what could be Britain's worst case of systematic abuse.
Deputy police chief Lenny Harper said: "We are concentrating on a cellar. We have had some positive indications from the dog but there could be a number of explanations."
Remains, including a skull, were found under a thick concrete floor at Jersey's Haut de la Garenne on Saturday. They are thought to be of a child aged 11 to 15, dating from the 80s.
A probe of abuse allegations including beatings and rape as far back as the 60s was launched two years ago but only made public in November.
Police were in contact with 140 alleged victims and witnesses but 10 more have come forward since the weekend.
Former residents revealed they were often forced into solitary confinement, but Mr Harper refused to say if the cellar was used for that purpose.
Three ex-residents said they knew children who disappeared.
It has also emerged bones were found at the home - now a youth hostel - by builders five years ago and dismissed as animal remains. But it turns out they were discovered next to children's shoes, which were handed to police.
An excavation team including archaeologists, sniffer dogs and radar equipment expanded its search in the grounds yesterday.
Accusations that authorities did not investigate abuse complaints properly are also being probed. But police insisted there was no evidence of a cover-up.
Mr Harper said: "We are looking at allegations that agencies did not deal with things as perhaps they should."
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/topstories/2008/02/26/are-kids-buried-in-the-cellar-89520-20331964/
Island's 'culture of secrecy'
The local politician who highlighted the issue of abusive childcare practices on Jersey has accused the island's establishment of a "culture of concealment" and of frustrating efforts to help vulnerable children.
Stuart Syvret, a former health and social security minister on Jersey before he was dismissed last year, said that abuse against island children had been allowed to continue in what he termed a "secretive one-party state".
Mr Syvret, who still serves as an island senator, said that his attempts to alert the authorities to what he termed the "systematic disregard" of the rights of vulnerable children had been opposed by Jersey's political elite because of fears of damaging the island's reputation.
Jersey's chief minister has accused Mr Syvret of making "wild and unsubstantiated allegations" and of attempting to make "political capital" out of a local scandal.
But a social worker sacked by Jersey authorities after he also drew attention to alleged abusive childcare practices also spoke of an "old-fashioned and underfunded" child-care system on Jersey where dissent is discouraged.
Harsh punishments
Early in 2007, Mr Syvret, who has been a senator for 17 years, said he felt he needed to go public on his concerns about Jersey's child care system.
He said: "I began to hear accounts of criminality. The more I investigated, the clearer it became that there was a systemic failure."
What Mr Syvret says he began to uncover were allegations of child abuse on Jersey going back over half a century.
Former junior staff and former children's home inmates - including those who had lived in the Haut de la Garenne home where police have recently discovered a child's body - told him of beating, canings and other harsh punishments for the most trivial of offences.
In that sort of atmosphere I can find it entirely believable that a child could disappear and no-one ask any questions
It is claimed that children were routinely punched in the back of the head for not walking with a straight back. Witnesses told of children being caned with birches.
In December 2007 before he was - in his words - "shouted down" by his colleagues in the States Assembly, Mr Syret had attempted to expose what he described as a "culture of disregard, abandonment and contempt for children".
He said: "My fellow States colleagues did not want to hear. It displayed the very same culture of cover-up and silencing of anyone in Jersey who attempts to speak out."
However, unknown to Mr Syvret, Jersey police had been conducting their own parallel investigation, culminating in the intensive search of Haute de la Garenne, and a number of other sites where it is feared more bodies may be buried.
So far more that 140 victims of alleged abuse have come forward and, according to the chief investigating officer Lenny Harper, the allegations range from physical assaults to rapes over a 60-year period.
Respected figures
Police have a list of 40 suspects, who have been described as respected figures of the establishment" who worked in children's homes in positions of responsibility.
For Mr Syvret, the fact that it has taken so long for the allegations to be investigated is testament to what he describes as Jersey's "conservative, closed society".
"No evidence" of a cover-up says investigator Lenny Harper.
He said: "Jersey operates like a one-party state. There is very little separation of powers, a single layer of government and consequently very few checks and balances on the power of the executive.
"The island is very dependent on the finance industry. Local oligarchs are the business elite.
"They work together, play golf together and go to the same parties.
"What that means, is that when a scandal happens their first reaction is stamp on controversy. While they may not have any connection with the case, their attitude is: don't air dirty laundry in public; it might damage Jersey's reputation."
'Grand Prix'
Social worker Simon Bellwood claims he has first-hand experience of how the Jersey establishment treats dissenters. He says he was sacked after he exposed a controversial "Grand Prix" disciplinary system being operated in a children's secure unit.
His employers say he was fired for "incompetence", although Mr Bellwood will challenge this at a tribunal next month.
He said: "Under this system children deemed to be in the Grand Prix "Pits" were routinely subjected to periods of total isolation. I found this unacceptable, and reported this my superiors."
But every time I raised the issue I came across attitudes like: 'Do as your boss tells you: don't challenge authority.'"
Mr Bellwood, who came from the UK mainland to head up the Greenfields residential unit in 2007, said: "I found Jersey's childcare system to be reactive, old fashioned and historically underfunded.
"In that sort of atmosphere I can find it entirely believable that a child could disappear and no-one ask any questions."
Children's rights
What disturbs campaigners is that some practices - such as putting children in isolation for long periods - were described as "most unacceptable" in an official States-commissioned report in 2001 - but allowed to remain as official policy in a States-run children's home.
To critics that - and the lack of an independent inspection system for children's homes in Jersey - are emblematic of a system that downgrades the protection of children.
A spokesman for the States of Jersey said there was "no evidence" that Jersey's child-care system was under-resourced, and that an initial independent report on the Greenfields secure unit had been favourable. A full report on Jersey's childcare system is due to be published next month.
Jersey First Minister Frank Walker accused Mr Syvret of "having his own agenda".
He said: "You have to ask yourself why someone who had been in post for eight years only started to make these allegations about child abuse in 2007."
Morale
He said that Mr Syvret had been removed from his post as health minister not because of his campaign, but because he had "undermined the morale" of his own staff.
"It is my belief that the police investigation would have had exactly the same result, regardless of Mr Syvret's intervention," he said.
He dismissed the wider allegations of a culture of concealment: "We have 52 members of the States Assembly, all independent and all ready to speak their mind," he said. "The police themselves say there is no evidence of a cover-up."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/jersey/7263474.stm
Stuart Syvret, a former health and social security minister on Jersey before he was dismissed last year, said that abuse against island children had been allowed to continue in what he termed a "secretive one-party state".
Mr Syvret, who still serves as an island senator, said that his attempts to alert the authorities to what he termed the "systematic disregard" of the rights of vulnerable children had been opposed by Jersey's political elite because of fears of damaging the island's reputation.
Jersey's chief minister has accused Mr Syvret of making "wild and unsubstantiated allegations" and of attempting to make "political capital" out of a local scandal.
But a social worker sacked by Jersey authorities after he also drew attention to alleged abusive childcare practices also spoke of an "old-fashioned and underfunded" child-care system on Jersey where dissent is discouraged.
Harsh punishments
Early in 2007, Mr Syvret, who has been a senator for 17 years, said he felt he needed to go public on his concerns about Jersey's child care system.
He said: "I began to hear accounts of criminality. The more I investigated, the clearer it became that there was a systemic failure."
What Mr Syvret says he began to uncover were allegations of child abuse on Jersey going back over half a century.
Former junior staff and former children's home inmates - including those who had lived in the Haut de la Garenne home where police have recently discovered a child's body - told him of beating, canings and other harsh punishments for the most trivial of offences.
In that sort of atmosphere I can find it entirely believable that a child could disappear and no-one ask any questions
It is claimed that children were routinely punched in the back of the head for not walking with a straight back. Witnesses told of children being caned with birches.
In December 2007 before he was - in his words - "shouted down" by his colleagues in the States Assembly, Mr Syret had attempted to expose what he described as a "culture of disregard, abandonment and contempt for children".
He said: "My fellow States colleagues did not want to hear. It displayed the very same culture of cover-up and silencing of anyone in Jersey who attempts to speak out."
However, unknown to Mr Syvret, Jersey police had been conducting their own parallel investigation, culminating in the intensive search of Haute de la Garenne, and a number of other sites where it is feared more bodies may be buried.
So far more that 140 victims of alleged abuse have come forward and, according to the chief investigating officer Lenny Harper, the allegations range from physical assaults to rapes over a 60-year period.
Respected figures
Police have a list of 40 suspects, who have been described as respected figures of the establishment" who worked in children's homes in positions of responsibility.
For Mr Syvret, the fact that it has taken so long for the allegations to be investigated is testament to what he describes as Jersey's "conservative, closed society".
"No evidence" of a cover-up says investigator Lenny Harper.
He said: "Jersey operates like a one-party state. There is very little separation of powers, a single layer of government and consequently very few checks and balances on the power of the executive.
"The island is very dependent on the finance industry. Local oligarchs are the business elite.
"They work together, play golf together and go to the same parties.
"What that means, is that when a scandal happens their first reaction is stamp on controversy. While they may not have any connection with the case, their attitude is: don't air dirty laundry in public; it might damage Jersey's reputation."
'Grand Prix'
Social worker Simon Bellwood claims he has first-hand experience of how the Jersey establishment treats dissenters. He says he was sacked after he exposed a controversial "Grand Prix" disciplinary system being operated in a children's secure unit.
His employers say he was fired for "incompetence", although Mr Bellwood will challenge this at a tribunal next month.
He said: "Under this system children deemed to be in the Grand Prix "Pits" were routinely subjected to periods of total isolation. I found this unacceptable, and reported this my superiors."
But every time I raised the issue I came across attitudes like: 'Do as your boss tells you: don't challenge authority.'"
Mr Bellwood, who came from the UK mainland to head up the Greenfields residential unit in 2007, said: "I found Jersey's childcare system to be reactive, old fashioned and historically underfunded.
"In that sort of atmosphere I can find it entirely believable that a child could disappear and no-one ask any questions."
Children's rights
What disturbs campaigners is that some practices - such as putting children in isolation for long periods - were described as "most unacceptable" in an official States-commissioned report in 2001 - but allowed to remain as official policy in a States-run children's home.
To critics that - and the lack of an independent inspection system for children's homes in Jersey - are emblematic of a system that downgrades the protection of children.
A spokesman for the States of Jersey said there was "no evidence" that Jersey's child-care system was under-resourced, and that an initial independent report on the Greenfields secure unit had been favourable. A full report on Jersey's childcare system is due to be published next month.
Jersey First Minister Frank Walker accused Mr Syvret of "having his own agenda".
He said: "You have to ask yourself why someone who had been in post for eight years only started to make these allegations about child abuse in 2007."
Morale
He said that Mr Syvret had been removed from his post as health minister not because of his campaign, but because he had "undermined the morale" of his own staff.
"It is my belief that the police investigation would have had exactly the same result, regardless of Mr Syvret's intervention," he said.
He dismissed the wider allegations of a culture of concealment: "We have 52 members of the States Assembly, all independent and all ready to speak their mind," he said. "The police themselves say there is no evidence of a cover-up."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/jersey/7263474.stm
Jersey Chief Minister confronts abuse crisis
When Stuart Syvret was ousted from his position as Jersey's Health Minister last year after exposing alleged child abuse in the island's children's homes, Frank Walker, the Chief Minister, accused him of damaging Jersey's reputation by speaking to the media.
But after Mr Syvret's claims of widespread child abuse on the island may prove gruesomely accurate, Mr Walker finds himself presiding over Jersey's biggest crisis since the Second World War.
His spat with Mr Syvret last year was not the first time the two men have clashed - in 1998, before he was the Chief Minister, Mr Walker had to defend himself against suggestions that there was a potential conflict of interest between his political role and his chairmanship of the parent company of the Jersey Evening Post, the island's only newspaper.
Mr Syvret was at the time an outspoken critic of alleged conflicts of interest between business and political interests among the States of Jersey's members.
Mr Walker, appointed Chief Minister in 2005, set up an independent inquiry into Mr Syvret's abuse claims last year, which is being led by British childcare expert Andrew Williamson.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/26/njersey126.xml
But after Mr Syvret's claims of widespread child abuse on the island may prove gruesomely accurate, Mr Walker finds himself presiding over Jersey's biggest crisis since the Second World War.
His spat with Mr Syvret last year was not the first time the two men have clashed - in 1998, before he was the Chief Minister, Mr Walker had to defend himself against suggestions that there was a potential conflict of interest between his political role and his chairmanship of the parent company of the Jersey Evening Post, the island's only newspaper.
Mr Syvret was at the time an outspoken critic of alleged conflicts of interest between business and political interests among the States of Jersey's members.
Mr Walker, appointed Chief Minister in 2005, set up an independent inquiry into Mr Syvret's abuse claims last year, which is being led by British childcare expert Andrew Williamson.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/26/njersey126.xml
Police try to break into cellar at Jersey home
Jersey police were last night trying to smash their way into a bricked-up cellar in search of more remains at the former children's home where a skull was dug up on Saturday.
Lenny Harper, the police officer in charge, has said he fears that six or more bodies may be buried in and around the building. Yesterday he confirmed that police had a list of missing children who they think may be relevant.
"There are a number of names that we have got but ... we can't connect any of them [to the inquiry] at this moment in time," he said.
The basement at the Haut de la Garenne children's home has been filled with concrete and bricked up, but a sniffer dog trained to detect human remains has indicated that more bodies may be hidden. Historical records show children at the home were forced into solitary confinement, but when asked if the cellar was used for this purpose Harper declined to comment. The dog has also identified several potential spots in the courtyard of the property which may well be dug up.
"We have had some positive indications from the dog, which is trained to detect human remains, but that could have a number of answers," Harper said yesterday. "The dog indicated a number of areas above the cellar, but one area he indicated more than others."
Another 10 people, from Jersey and the UK, have contacted police over the weekend claiming to have been abused at the home, which closed in 1986 and has since been turned into a youth hostel.
Since the far-reaching child abuse investigation went public in November last year, 150 alleged victims have been in touch, some of them now living as far away as Australia and Thailand. The police have also identified 40 suspects, most of whom worked at Haut de la Garenne.
So far, just one man, a 76-year-old who worked at the home in the 1960s and 70s, has been charged with child abuse.
Harper confirmed that bones found at Haut de la Garenne five years ago had been underneath the same corridor where the skull was recently found. At the time, they were assumed to be animal bones, but in the light of the potential murder inquiry Harper's team is trying to find them and have them reanalysed.
The skull found on Saturday will be sent for analysis in the UK.
Claims emerged yesterday that the skull had been dug up and reburied. Stuart Syvret, former health and social services minister, said: "The remains of the body which have been discovered had been dug up five years ago.
"The person who did it clearly thought the renovation of the building into a youth hostel would be a good opportunity to hide the bones under concrete for ever." Syvret has campaigned for years to expose alleged abuses at the home.
Harper said there had been no evidence so far of a government cover-up, but added that he was investigating allegations that earlier reports of abuse were not followed up properly. "Part of the inquiry will be the fact that a lot of the victims tried to report their assaults but for some reason or another they were not dealt with as they should be," he said.
Officers were alerted to the hilltop site, which also used to be an orphanage, after they opened a historical child abuse investigation and noticed that a large number of the alleged abusers all had connections to Haut de la Garenne.
Founded in 1857 as the Jersey Industrial school, its aim was to "make bad boys good" by offering them a healthy environment where idle and disorderly habits would be discouraged. Initially, around 100 boys, aged between six and 15, were accommodated at the school. From 1959 girls were accepted.
Frank Lewis, a former resident, said the regime was tough and the headmaster, a Mr Badham, was known for his violence. "Within a week he'd flogged me till I bled in front of the whole school and had cut off a boy's finger with a sharp cane," he told the Jersey Evening News before he died.
Kenny Le Quesne, 57, was a resident at the home for six weeks in the mid-1960s. He described a culture of terror and fear at the institution. "My mother sent me there after she caught me stealing some money from her purse," he said. "One of the boys chucked a lump of fat into the stew I was eating in the lunch hall. One of the guards saw me take it out and hit me. He told me to eat it. When I refused he hit me again."
It was reported yesterday that Edward Paisnel, a paedophile dubbed the Beast of Jersey, visited Haut de la Garenne dressed as Father Christmas in the 1960s. Paisnel - who died in 1994 - was found guilty of 13 counts of assault, rape and sodomy in 1971, but police in Jersey said there was "no evidence" to link him with the skull.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/feb/26/ukcrime.childprotection
Lenny Harper, the police officer in charge, has said he fears that six or more bodies may be buried in and around the building. Yesterday he confirmed that police had a list of missing children who they think may be relevant.
"There are a number of names that we have got but ... we can't connect any of them [to the inquiry] at this moment in time," he said.
The basement at the Haut de la Garenne children's home has been filled with concrete and bricked up, but a sniffer dog trained to detect human remains has indicated that more bodies may be hidden. Historical records show children at the home were forced into solitary confinement, but when asked if the cellar was used for this purpose Harper declined to comment. The dog has also identified several potential spots in the courtyard of the property which may well be dug up.
"We have had some positive indications from the dog, which is trained to detect human remains, but that could have a number of answers," Harper said yesterday. "The dog indicated a number of areas above the cellar, but one area he indicated more than others."
Another 10 people, from Jersey and the UK, have contacted police over the weekend claiming to have been abused at the home, which closed in 1986 and has since been turned into a youth hostel.
Since the far-reaching child abuse investigation went public in November last year, 150 alleged victims have been in touch, some of them now living as far away as Australia and Thailand. The police have also identified 40 suspects, most of whom worked at Haut de la Garenne.
So far, just one man, a 76-year-old who worked at the home in the 1960s and 70s, has been charged with child abuse.
Harper confirmed that bones found at Haut de la Garenne five years ago had been underneath the same corridor where the skull was recently found. At the time, they were assumed to be animal bones, but in the light of the potential murder inquiry Harper's team is trying to find them and have them reanalysed.
The skull found on Saturday will be sent for analysis in the UK.
Claims emerged yesterday that the skull had been dug up and reburied. Stuart Syvret, former health and social services minister, said: "The remains of the body which have been discovered had been dug up five years ago.
"The person who did it clearly thought the renovation of the building into a youth hostel would be a good opportunity to hide the bones under concrete for ever." Syvret has campaigned for years to expose alleged abuses at the home.
Harper said there had been no evidence so far of a government cover-up, but added that he was investigating allegations that earlier reports of abuse were not followed up properly. "Part of the inquiry will be the fact that a lot of the victims tried to report their assaults but for some reason or another they were not dealt with as they should be," he said.
Officers were alerted to the hilltop site, which also used to be an orphanage, after they opened a historical child abuse investigation and noticed that a large number of the alleged abusers all had connections to Haut de la Garenne.
Founded in 1857 as the Jersey Industrial school, its aim was to "make bad boys good" by offering them a healthy environment where idle and disorderly habits would be discouraged. Initially, around 100 boys, aged between six and 15, were accommodated at the school. From 1959 girls were accepted.
Frank Lewis, a former resident, said the regime was tough and the headmaster, a Mr Badham, was known for his violence. "Within a week he'd flogged me till I bled in front of the whole school and had cut off a boy's finger with a sharp cane," he told the Jersey Evening News before he died.
Kenny Le Quesne, 57, was a resident at the home for six weeks in the mid-1960s. He described a culture of terror and fear at the institution. "My mother sent me there after she caught me stealing some money from her purse," he said. "One of the boys chucked a lump of fat into the stew I was eating in the lunch hall. One of the guards saw me take it out and hit me. He told me to eat it. When I refused he hit me again."
It was reported yesterday that Edward Paisnel, a paedophile dubbed the Beast of Jersey, visited Haut de la Garenne dressed as Father Christmas in the 1960s. Paisnel - who died in 1994 - was found guilty of 13 counts of assault, rape and sodomy in 1971, but police in Jersey said there was "no evidence" to link him with the skull.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/feb/26/ukcrime.childprotection
Haut de la Garenne: Why abuse on this level could happen again
My mouth went dry and my fists clenched when I heard about the remains found in Jersey.
I felt sorrow and rage that police are once again belatedly investigating a huge paedophile ring based on care home kids, and expect to dig up more bodies.
A ring of evil men exploited the most vulnerable children imaginable for up to 40 years, and no one stopped them.
It is emerging now that the victims repeatedly begged for help. Why did no one listen?
I have a pretty good idea why not, given how viciously the politically-correct establishment silenced me about the similar paedophile ring which raped me.
I was sexually abused by two male workers in children's homes in Islington, North London, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I was unusual, a kid who did not seek escape through drugs or suicide.
But I did run away and never again attended school. I spent my days at my local library, educated myself and went on to university, desperately hoping I could make someone listen. No-one did.
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, I wrote reports on my abusers, demanding an inquiry.
In 1992, I even lobbied Margaret Hodge's office - she was then council leader - and met her stand-in, Stephen Twigg, now also a Labour MP. He did nothing.
The truth only emerged thanks to a three-year newspaper campaign which revealed that all of Islington's 12 children's homes were run by, or included, staff who were paedophiles, child pornographers or pimps.
How did this come about? Child care was - and remains - underpaid and undervalued. Sadists easily acquire jobs when no one else wants them.
But there was another insidious factor in Islington - one which I fear leaves other children at equal risk today.
The far-Left council had actively recruited men who claimed to be gay to run its homes, and declared that "gays" did not even need references or professional training or experience.
But the men who flocked forward were not gay - they were paedophiles.
A 1995 Government-ordered inquiry confirmed that no action was taken against these evil men because "the equal opportunities environment, driven from the personnel perspective, became a positive disincentive for bad practice".
In plain English, anyone who raised abuse concerns about the men running its children's homes was "anti gay".
And I was written off as "insane".
In 2003, when Tony Blair shocked many by appointing Margaret Hodge as Children's Minister, she tried to halt a media investigation into her Islington history by claiming I was "extremely disturbed".
She eventually had to apologise to me in the High Court. I was by then a Government adviser, producing reports for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
In Jersey, the victims now coming forward are said to be furious that their earlier pleas for help were ignored. Murder was committed, but no one lifted a finger.
I have always believed only the surface of the corruption in Islington was scraped. An immensely brave social worker who blew the whistle on the scandal told me early on that other victims talked of children being killed. But they were too afraid to give details. None of those allegations was ever investigated.
Let us not kid ourselves that such horrors could never happen again. People may be more vigorously vetted, and complaints taken more seriously, but paedophiles can offend against hundreds before they acquire a criminal record because children are easy to intimidate and ensnare.
The Islington scandal should have shamed social workers out of naive political correctness, but it has not.
Children today in need of care are most likely to be placed with foster parents, rather than in homes.
That does not mean there is no risk, just that victims are more isolated. Consider how many councils now boast of their active commitment to recruiting gay foster carers.
Are they bright and brave enough to distinguish between genuine gay men - who would not dream of hurting children - and paedophiles who cynically hide behind the gay rights banner?
I am not convinced - I know of one foster care manager jailed in 2005 for the sexual abuse of boys in care.
Scandalously, the council responsible - one of Britain's most gay-friendly - has still held no inquiry into whether he was recruiting other paedophile friends as "carers".
So how can anyone be sure the children he placed are safe?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=518672&in_page_id=1770
I felt sorrow and rage that police are once again belatedly investigating a huge paedophile ring based on care home kids, and expect to dig up more bodies.
A ring of evil men exploited the most vulnerable children imaginable for up to 40 years, and no one stopped them.
It is emerging now that the victims repeatedly begged for help. Why did no one listen?
I have a pretty good idea why not, given how viciously the politically-correct establishment silenced me about the similar paedophile ring which raped me.
I was sexually abused by two male workers in children's homes in Islington, North London, in the late 1970s and early 1980s. I was unusual, a kid who did not seek escape through drugs or suicide.
But I did run away and never again attended school. I spent my days at my local library, educated myself and went on to university, desperately hoping I could make someone listen. No-one did.
Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, I wrote reports on my abusers, demanding an inquiry.
In 1992, I even lobbied Margaret Hodge's office - she was then council leader - and met her stand-in, Stephen Twigg, now also a Labour MP. He did nothing.
The truth only emerged thanks to a three-year newspaper campaign which revealed that all of Islington's 12 children's homes were run by, or included, staff who were paedophiles, child pornographers or pimps.
How did this come about? Child care was - and remains - underpaid and undervalued. Sadists easily acquire jobs when no one else wants them.
But there was another insidious factor in Islington - one which I fear leaves other children at equal risk today.
The far-Left council had actively recruited men who claimed to be gay to run its homes, and declared that "gays" did not even need references or professional training or experience.
But the men who flocked forward were not gay - they were paedophiles.
A 1995 Government-ordered inquiry confirmed that no action was taken against these evil men because "the equal opportunities environment, driven from the personnel perspective, became a positive disincentive for bad practice".
In plain English, anyone who raised abuse concerns about the men running its children's homes was "anti gay".
And I was written off as "insane".
In 2003, when Tony Blair shocked many by appointing Margaret Hodge as Children's Minister, she tried to halt a media investigation into her Islington history by claiming I was "extremely disturbed".
She eventually had to apologise to me in the High Court. I was by then a Government adviser, producing reports for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
In Jersey, the victims now coming forward are said to be furious that their earlier pleas for help were ignored. Murder was committed, but no one lifted a finger.
I have always believed only the surface of the corruption in Islington was scraped. An immensely brave social worker who blew the whistle on the scandal told me early on that other victims talked of children being killed. But they were too afraid to give details. None of those allegations was ever investigated.
Let us not kid ourselves that such horrors could never happen again. People may be more vigorously vetted, and complaints taken more seriously, but paedophiles can offend against hundreds before they acquire a criminal record because children are easy to intimidate and ensnare.
The Islington scandal should have shamed social workers out of naive political correctness, but it has not.
Children today in need of care are most likely to be placed with foster parents, rather than in homes.
That does not mean there is no risk, just that victims are more isolated. Consider how many councils now boast of their active commitment to recruiting gay foster carers.
Are they bright and brave enough to distinguish between genuine gay men - who would not dream of hurting children - and paedophiles who cynically hide behind the gay rights banner?
I am not convinced - I know of one foster care manager jailed in 2005 for the sexual abuse of boys in care.
Scandalously, the council responsible - one of Britain's most gay-friendly - has still held no inquiry into whether he was recruiting other paedophile friends as "carers".
So how can anyone be sure the children he placed are safe?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=518672&in_page_id=1770
British Police Dig Up Child's Skull
LONDON (AP) — Police used dogs to search for more bodies Monday at a former children's home on the British island of Jersey after a child's skull was found under a concrete slab there.
The skull was found Saturday by a police dog in an investigation of the property, which was a home for orphaned and abandoned children until 1986. Forensic experts have determined the remains are at least 20 years old and that of a child.
Officials said that without dental records and a full list of who went missing from the home it may be difficult to determine the child's identity.
Police used dogs Monday to search for additional remains, focusing on a bricked-up cellar on the property, Jersey deputy police chief Lenny Harper said.
"We have had some positive indications from the dogs which are trained to find human remains, but there could be a number of viable alternative explanations," he said. "At this stage we just don't know if there are more bodies."
The building that housed the Haut de la Garenne home was built in 1867 and reopened in 2004 as a youth hostel on Jersey, about 100 miles south of Britain's main island and 14 miles from the French coast. The home was operated as part of Jersey's state-run child care program.
Police have received the names of people believed to be missing and are trying to determine if their remains are hidden on the property, Harper said.
"We've got a number of names that might or might not be missing," he said. "Some people thought to have been missing have been accounted for. We're trying to tie down exactly who is still missing."
About 150 people who lived in the home have come forward to say they were abused there, many prompted by the discovery of the skull. Most say the abuse — which includes allegations of sexual assault, beatings and children locked in confinement for extended periods — happened in the 1960s and 1970s, said Harper.
"There's been a significant number of victims that have come forward in the last two days, both from Jersey and the U.K.," Harper said.
Police set up a confidential telephone help line last year so that people who were subjected to physical or sexual abuse at the children's home could report the details without revealing their identities.
Harper said police will also try to determine why there was no response to earlier abuse complaints.
"Part of the inquiry will be about the fact that a lot of the victims tried to report their assaults at an earlier stage and they were never dealt with," Harper said. "We will look at all allegations. A number of agencies in Jersey didn't deal with this the way they should have."
Problems at the Haut de la Garenne home were first publicized by Stuart Syvret, a Jersey senator who complained about widespread abuses.
In a speech excerpted in Monday's edition of the Times, he said Jersey had long tolerated "a culture of disregard, abandonment and contempt for children, especially those children in need."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jj4dCP1uBv5yfy_6E2ACsiG85J2AD8V1J1OG0
The skull was found Saturday by a police dog in an investigation of the property, which was a home for orphaned and abandoned children until 1986. Forensic experts have determined the remains are at least 20 years old and that of a child.
Officials said that without dental records and a full list of who went missing from the home it may be difficult to determine the child's identity.
Police used dogs Monday to search for additional remains, focusing on a bricked-up cellar on the property, Jersey deputy police chief Lenny Harper said.
"We have had some positive indications from the dogs which are trained to find human remains, but there could be a number of viable alternative explanations," he said. "At this stage we just don't know if there are more bodies."
The building that housed the Haut de la Garenne home was built in 1867 and reopened in 2004 as a youth hostel on Jersey, about 100 miles south of Britain's main island and 14 miles from the French coast. The home was operated as part of Jersey's state-run child care program.
Police have received the names of people believed to be missing and are trying to determine if their remains are hidden on the property, Harper said.
"We've got a number of names that might or might not be missing," he said. "Some people thought to have been missing have been accounted for. We're trying to tie down exactly who is still missing."
About 150 people who lived in the home have come forward to say they were abused there, many prompted by the discovery of the skull. Most say the abuse — which includes allegations of sexual assault, beatings and children locked in confinement for extended periods — happened in the 1960s and 1970s, said Harper.
"There's been a significant number of victims that have come forward in the last two days, both from Jersey and the U.K.," Harper said.
Police set up a confidential telephone help line last year so that people who were subjected to physical or sexual abuse at the children's home could report the details without revealing their identities.
Harper said police will also try to determine why there was no response to earlier abuse complaints.
"Part of the inquiry will be about the fact that a lot of the victims tried to report their assaults at an earlier stage and they were never dealt with," Harper said. "We will look at all allegations. A number of agencies in Jersey didn't deal with this the way they should have."
Problems at the Haut de la Garenne home were first publicized by Stuart Syvret, a Jersey senator who complained about widespread abuses.
In a speech excerpted in Monday's edition of the Times, he said Jersey had long tolerated "a culture of disregard, abandonment and contempt for children, especially those children in need."
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jj4dCP1uBv5yfy_6E2ACsiG85J2AD8V1J1OG0
Search for more bodies at Jersey care home
The search for more bodies at a former children's home in Jersey is focused on a bricked-up cellar where police fear they may make further grim discoveries.
Sniffer dogs trained to detect human remains have indicated that something may lie hidden in the large basement which stretches under an internal courtyard at Haut de la Garenne.
Children at the home - which closed in 1986 and is now a youth hostel - are thought to have been locked up in solitary confinement as a punishment, and may have spent time in the cellar.
On Saturday a child's skull was found buried under concrete at the building in St Martin, and a further six sites, including the cellar, will now be excavated after being flagged up by the dogs and by ground-penetrating radar.
A total of 150 people claiming to have been victims of abuse have now contacted police since an appeal was made last year in what may prove to be one of the worst child abuse scandals in Britain.
Detectives fear the alleged abuse may date back to the 1940s and are scouring missing persons records for possible murder victims.
Deputy Chief Officer Lenny Harper, leading the investigation, said forensic specialists were struggling to access the cellar because they are worried they will destroy crucial evidence in the process.
He said: "The dog indicated above the cellar where there seems to be some sort of backfill. He indicated a number of areas but there was one area which he indicated more than others.
"It is a very slow and methodical process which is likely to continue for some time."
Mr Harper said bones found at the building five years ago – which were presumed to be from an animal – had been located in one of the areas recently identified by the sniffer dog.
"But because they were declared to be animal bones, they may well have been destroyed," he added.
Police decided to dig up the property after three former residents – two of whom still live on the island - voiced fears that children they knew had disappeared at the home.
As the investigation continued, more information emerged about the children's home, dubbed "Colditz" by one former resident, where children were kept to a strict routine and physical punishment was alleged to be a regular occurrence.
One former inhabitant, Frank Lewis, described how he was beaten by the headmaster who was eventually dismissed for ill-treatment.
He told the Jersey Evening Post in 1979: "Within a week, he'd flogged me until I bled in front of the whole school and had cut off a boy's finger with a sharp cane."
It also emerged that a paedophile – dubbed the "Beast of Jersey" – visited Haut de la Garenne dressed as a Father Christmas during the 1960s.
Edward Paisnel, a building contractor, was jailed in 1971 for 30 years for a string of attacks on women and children over 11 years. Also known as the "Jersey Rapist", he abducted and abused children in the parish of St Martin – where Haut de la Garenne is located - and threatened to kill them if they told anyone they had been attacked.
He was found guilty of 13 counts of assault, rape and sodomy. On searching his home, officers discovered an altar to the devil in a secret room.
Jersey police said there was no evidence at this stage to link Paisnel - who died in 1994 - with the current investigation.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/25/njersey425.xml
Sniffer dogs trained to detect human remains have indicated that something may lie hidden in the large basement which stretches under an internal courtyard at Haut de la Garenne.
Children at the home - which closed in 1986 and is now a youth hostel - are thought to have been locked up in solitary confinement as a punishment, and may have spent time in the cellar.
On Saturday a child's skull was found buried under concrete at the building in St Martin, and a further six sites, including the cellar, will now be excavated after being flagged up by the dogs and by ground-penetrating radar.
A total of 150 people claiming to have been victims of abuse have now contacted police since an appeal was made last year in what may prove to be one of the worst child abuse scandals in Britain.
Detectives fear the alleged abuse may date back to the 1940s and are scouring missing persons records for possible murder victims.
Deputy Chief Officer Lenny Harper, leading the investigation, said forensic specialists were struggling to access the cellar because they are worried they will destroy crucial evidence in the process.
He said: "The dog indicated above the cellar where there seems to be some sort of backfill. He indicated a number of areas but there was one area which he indicated more than others.
"It is a very slow and methodical process which is likely to continue for some time."
Mr Harper said bones found at the building five years ago – which were presumed to be from an animal – had been located in one of the areas recently identified by the sniffer dog.
"But because they were declared to be animal bones, they may well have been destroyed," he added.
Police decided to dig up the property after three former residents – two of whom still live on the island - voiced fears that children they knew had disappeared at the home.
As the investigation continued, more information emerged about the children's home, dubbed "Colditz" by one former resident, where children were kept to a strict routine and physical punishment was alleged to be a regular occurrence.
One former inhabitant, Frank Lewis, described how he was beaten by the headmaster who was eventually dismissed for ill-treatment.
He told the Jersey Evening Post in 1979: "Within a week, he'd flogged me until I bled in front of the whole school and had cut off a boy's finger with a sharp cane."
It also emerged that a paedophile – dubbed the "Beast of Jersey" – visited Haut de la Garenne dressed as a Father Christmas during the 1960s.
Edward Paisnel, a building contractor, was jailed in 1971 for 30 years for a string of attacks on women and children over 11 years. Also known as the "Jersey Rapist", he abducted and abused children in the parish of St Martin – where Haut de la Garenne is located - and threatened to kill them if they told anyone they had been attacked.
He was found guilty of 13 counts of assault, rape and sodomy. On searching his home, officers discovered an altar to the devil in a secret room.
Jersey police said there was no evidence at this stage to link Paisnel - who died in 1994 - with the current investigation.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/25/njersey425.xml
Jersey child abuse inquiry focuses on bricked up cellar
Police searching a Jersey youth hostel where the remains of a child were found said today they were focusing on a bricked-up cellar.
Detectives said a sniffer dog specially trained to locate human remains had identified a number of hotspots at the cellar within the Haut de la Garenne, a former children’s home.
Officers were alerted to the site, which used to be an orphanage, after a child abuse investigation was launched last November with allegations dating back to the 1960s.
Lenny Harper, Jersey’s deputy chief police officer, could not say how long the cellar had been sealed.
There have been reports that children at the home were forced into solitary confinement, and when asked if the cellar was used for this Mr Harper declined to comment.
“We are concentrating on a cellar that was at one stage bricked up,” he said.
“It is a very slow methodical process. We have had some positive indications from the dog but there could be a number of explanations.
“At this stage we just don’t know if there are more bodies.”
Mr Harper said that ten more alleged victims had come forward after the story appeared in the media. Police were already in contact with 140 alleged victims and witnesses, including former employees at the home.
Mr Harper said the investigation was also looking at accusations that allegations of abuse were not properly investigated when children made complaints in the past.
“Part of the inquiry will be the fact that a lot of the victims tried to report their assaults but for some reason or another they were not dealt with as they should be,” he said.
“We are looking at allegations that a number of agencies didn’t deal with things as perhaps they should, we are looking at all the agencies.
“We’ve no evidence of a cover-up by any Jersey government.”
Mr Harper confirmed that detectives have the names of some children who may have gone missing, but would not comment on how many.
He confirmed that part of the human remains found on Saturday was a skull but warned it may not be possible to identify the child from it.
“The difficulties of trying to identify that (the skull) are immense,” he said. “It’s going to be looked at but we may never know.”
He said they did not expect to make any arrests in relation to the remains in the near future and they would continue to treat the investigation as a “major crime”.
Forensic teams at the site have expanded their search, which is expected to last two weeks, and put up two more investigation tents.
The child abuse investigation is focusing on the period when Haut de la Garenne was used as a centre for children in care or who had behaviour problems.
Mr Harper said that the police investigation began when a number of former members of staff were arrested on suspicion of paedophile crimes.
Detectives were looking into historical allegations of sexual and physical abuse of children, said to have occurred on premises run by the state or voluntary groups.
The allegations spanned a period from the 1960s up to the early years of this decade, although police said the bulk of them focused on the 1970s and 1980s.
The Haut de la Garenne closed as a children’s home in 1986. It opened as a youth hostel in 2004.
The Youth Hostel Association released a statement today stressing that the alleged incidents being investigated by police pre-date the building’s use as a youth hostel by two decades.
The statement went on: “This is a deeply regrettable matter and we are doing all we can to assist the police in any way possible.”
Meanwhile Stuart Syvret, the island’s former health minister, came under attack today after he described talking to former residents in the home who claimed that floggings and solitary confinement were used as punishments.
Senator Syvret said that he believed that years of abuse at care home across the island had been concealed and covered up.
Senator Frank Walker, Jersey’s Chief Minister, today said that Senator Syvret had “no evidence” for his claims and was a “disaffected member of Government”.
“He first made these allegations in June and so far has produced no evidence,” he said.
“We are concentrating all our resources on helping the police and that includes looking at any allegations of a cover-up.
“If anyone is found guilty they would be arrested and prosecuted in exactly the same way as the people who perpetrated these evil crimes.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3432338.ece
Detectives said a sniffer dog specially trained to locate human remains had identified a number of hotspots at the cellar within the Haut de la Garenne, a former children’s home.
Officers were alerted to the site, which used to be an orphanage, after a child abuse investigation was launched last November with allegations dating back to the 1960s.
Lenny Harper, Jersey’s deputy chief police officer, could not say how long the cellar had been sealed.
There have been reports that children at the home were forced into solitary confinement, and when asked if the cellar was used for this Mr Harper declined to comment.
“We are concentrating on a cellar that was at one stage bricked up,” he said.
“It is a very slow methodical process. We have had some positive indications from the dog but there could be a number of explanations.
“At this stage we just don’t know if there are more bodies.”
Mr Harper said that ten more alleged victims had come forward after the story appeared in the media. Police were already in contact with 140 alleged victims and witnesses, including former employees at the home.
Mr Harper said the investigation was also looking at accusations that allegations of abuse were not properly investigated when children made complaints in the past.
“Part of the inquiry will be the fact that a lot of the victims tried to report their assaults but for some reason or another they were not dealt with as they should be,” he said.
“We are looking at allegations that a number of agencies didn’t deal with things as perhaps they should, we are looking at all the agencies.
“We’ve no evidence of a cover-up by any Jersey government.”
Mr Harper confirmed that detectives have the names of some children who may have gone missing, but would not comment on how many.
He confirmed that part of the human remains found on Saturday was a skull but warned it may not be possible to identify the child from it.
“The difficulties of trying to identify that (the skull) are immense,” he said. “It’s going to be looked at but we may never know.”
He said they did not expect to make any arrests in relation to the remains in the near future and they would continue to treat the investigation as a “major crime”.
Forensic teams at the site have expanded their search, which is expected to last two weeks, and put up two more investigation tents.
The child abuse investigation is focusing on the period when Haut de la Garenne was used as a centre for children in care or who had behaviour problems.
Mr Harper said that the police investigation began when a number of former members of staff were arrested on suspicion of paedophile crimes.
Detectives were looking into historical allegations of sexual and physical abuse of children, said to have occurred on premises run by the state or voluntary groups.
The allegations spanned a period from the 1960s up to the early years of this decade, although police said the bulk of them focused on the 1970s and 1980s.
The Haut de la Garenne closed as a children’s home in 1986. It opened as a youth hostel in 2004.
The Youth Hostel Association released a statement today stressing that the alleged incidents being investigated by police pre-date the building’s use as a youth hostel by two decades.
The statement went on: “This is a deeply regrettable matter and we are doing all we can to assist the police in any way possible.”
Meanwhile Stuart Syvret, the island’s former health minister, came under attack today after he described talking to former residents in the home who claimed that floggings and solitary confinement were used as punishments.
Senator Syvret said that he believed that years of abuse at care home across the island had been concealed and covered up.
Senator Frank Walker, Jersey’s Chief Minister, today said that Senator Syvret had “no evidence” for his claims and was a “disaffected member of Government”.
“He first made these allegations in June and so far has produced no evidence,” he said.
“We are concentrating all our resources on helping the police and that includes looking at any allegations of a cover-up.
“If anyone is found guilty they would be arrested and prosecuted in exactly the same way as the people who perpetrated these evil crimes.”
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3432338.ece
Jersey probe man 'fought IRA'
The MAN at the helm of the Jersey child care investigation was involved in the fight against the IRA, a former Royal Ulster Constaulary colleague revealed tonight.
Lenny Harper, was a detective based in the republican heartland of Andersonstown at the peak of the violence in Northern Ireland.
Former constabulary colleague Brian McVicker said tonight: “He was a first-class operator, a fantastic worker. He was a go-getter because he was a policeman who caught people.”
His son-in-law, a commanding officer with the Royal Military Police, was shot dead in Basra in August 2003.
Harper comes from the Waterside area of Londonderry but served just eight months as a sergeant in west Belfast on secondment from the London Metropolitan at a time when tensions heightened dramatically because of a developing crisis inside the Maze Prison in advance of the first of two republican hunger strikes which were to claim the lives of 10 men.
Forensic experts continued their search today at the former care home amid fears they had found six graves.
Teams at Haut de la Garenne in St Martin, on the east coast of the island of Jersey, are working with sniffer dogs and specialist equipment - including ground penetrating radar - to fully excavate parts of a youth hostel.
Deputy Chief Officer Harper said the search was "concentrated on the entrance to the cellar."
Police today expanded their cordon around the grounds and put up what appear to be two more investigation tents.
The work is being led by two sniffer dogs - one which specialises in detecting human remains and another which specialises in detecting blood.
Officer Harper said they had given "positive indications."
The major search is being conducted as it is feared children’s bodies could be hidden in the GROUNDS, under the FLOOR or in CELLARS since filled with concrete.
Cops revealed they have identified 140 surviving victims of sexual and physical abuse dating from the 1950s until earlier this decade.
Asked about the dead, Officer Harper said bluntly: “There could be six or more. It could be higher than that.”
Meanwhile a politician who tried to expose the scale of the horror on Jersey’s east coast claimed authorities had covered it up for generations in case it wrecked the holiday island’s image.
The nightmare centres on a mansion featured as a police station in the TV cop series Bergerac and currently a £14.95-a-night youth hostel.
Scandal
It was run as Haut de la Garenne home for children in care but has also housed underage criminals and kids with special needs.
It now seems it was the base for a paedophile ring for more than 50 years.
And police suspect the scandal stretches beyond the site in St Martin to care homes across the island.
Their investigation was triggered two years ago when a string of paedophile probes led to the home.
Officers kept the operation covert for 12 months to avoid alerting suspects.
They went public a year ago – and were bombarded with calls from victims living as far away as Thailand and Australia.
Three of them – now grown-up – told officers children had vanished and that they believed remains were buried at the site.
A sniffer dog used in the hunt for Madeleine McCann was called in.
The cocker spaniel, called Eddie, identified a spot beneath a corridor. Just inches beneath the concrete were found a teenager’s SKULL, a hair clasp, a scrap of fabric and a button.
Forensic tests to determine the victim’s sex, age and identity have begun.
The dog has so far gone on to pinpoint six other “hot spots” inside and out.
Ground-penetrating radar confirmed the sites as suspected graves. It will takes weeks to excavate them all.
“We have two archeologists and a team of forensic people fingertip sifting through a number of trenches.”
It emerged ANOTHER body may have been unearthed five years ago. But bones found on the ground were assumed to belong to an animal.
Detectives are now trying to locate them for forensic tests.
Referring to the horrors committed on the site, Mr Harper added: “We are talking about offences ranging from assaults through to rape and beyond.
“Back in the 1950s when children reported crimes like this against people who were respected figures, adults tended to treat them differently than they would today.
“It was a different age with different attitudes. There is now a huge groundswell of relief from victims that they are finally being listened to.”
Ex-Health Minister Senator Stuart Syvret told how he was SACKED after being shouted down for trying to raise the abuse scandal in the island’s parliament last year.
He said: “I fear we are at the tip of the iceberg. If it had been written as a script for Bergerac it would have been torn up as too extreme.
“I was trying to get my own department to face up to it but it was clear that I was being obstructed.
“There has been long-running, systematic failure of child protection.
“There has never been any official acknowledgement of all the decades of abuse. It has all been concealed from the public. We have been trying to make this island realise that it is has messed up catastrophically.”
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article841043.ece
Lenny Harper, was a detective based in the republican heartland of Andersonstown at the peak of the violence in Northern Ireland.
Former constabulary colleague Brian McVicker said tonight: “He was a first-class operator, a fantastic worker. He was a go-getter because he was a policeman who caught people.”
His son-in-law, a commanding officer with the Royal Military Police, was shot dead in Basra in August 2003.
Harper comes from the Waterside area of Londonderry but served just eight months as a sergeant in west Belfast on secondment from the London Metropolitan at a time when tensions heightened dramatically because of a developing crisis inside the Maze Prison in advance of the first of two republican hunger strikes which were to claim the lives of 10 men.
Forensic experts continued their search today at the former care home amid fears they had found six graves.
Teams at Haut de la Garenne in St Martin, on the east coast of the island of Jersey, are working with sniffer dogs and specialist equipment - including ground penetrating radar - to fully excavate parts of a youth hostel.
Deputy Chief Officer Harper said the search was "concentrated on the entrance to the cellar."
Police today expanded their cordon around the grounds and put up what appear to be two more investigation tents.
The work is being led by two sniffer dogs - one which specialises in detecting human remains and another which specialises in detecting blood.
Officer Harper said they had given "positive indications."
The major search is being conducted as it is feared children’s bodies could be hidden in the GROUNDS, under the FLOOR or in CELLARS since filled with concrete.
Cops revealed they have identified 140 surviving victims of sexual and physical abuse dating from the 1950s until earlier this decade.
Asked about the dead, Officer Harper said bluntly: “There could be six or more. It could be higher than that.”
Meanwhile a politician who tried to expose the scale of the horror on Jersey’s east coast claimed authorities had covered it up for generations in case it wrecked the holiday island’s image.
The nightmare centres on a mansion featured as a police station in the TV cop series Bergerac and currently a £14.95-a-night youth hostel.
Scandal
It was run as Haut de la Garenne home for children in care but has also housed underage criminals and kids with special needs.
It now seems it was the base for a paedophile ring for more than 50 years.
And police suspect the scandal stretches beyond the site in St Martin to care homes across the island.
Their investigation was triggered two years ago when a string of paedophile probes led to the home.
Officers kept the operation covert for 12 months to avoid alerting suspects.
They went public a year ago – and were bombarded with calls from victims living as far away as Thailand and Australia.
Three of them – now grown-up – told officers children had vanished and that they believed remains were buried at the site.
A sniffer dog used in the hunt for Madeleine McCann was called in.
The cocker spaniel, called Eddie, identified a spot beneath a corridor. Just inches beneath the concrete were found a teenager’s SKULL, a hair clasp, a scrap of fabric and a button.
Forensic tests to determine the victim’s sex, age and identity have begun.
The dog has so far gone on to pinpoint six other “hot spots” inside and out.
Ground-penetrating radar confirmed the sites as suspected graves. It will takes weeks to excavate them all.
“We have two archeologists and a team of forensic people fingertip sifting through a number of trenches.”
It emerged ANOTHER body may have been unearthed five years ago. But bones found on the ground were assumed to belong to an animal.
Detectives are now trying to locate them for forensic tests.
Referring to the horrors committed on the site, Mr Harper added: “We are talking about offences ranging from assaults through to rape and beyond.
“Back in the 1950s when children reported crimes like this against people who were respected figures, adults tended to treat them differently than they would today.
“It was a different age with different attitudes. There is now a huge groundswell of relief from victims that they are finally being listened to.”
Ex-Health Minister Senator Stuart Syvret told how he was SACKED after being shouted down for trying to raise the abuse scandal in the island’s parliament last year.
He said: “I fear we are at the tip of the iceberg. If it had been written as a script for Bergerac it would have been torn up as too extreme.
“I was trying to get my own department to face up to it but it was clear that I was being obstructed.
“There has been long-running, systematic failure of child protection.
“There has never been any official acknowledgement of all the decades of abuse. It has all been concealed from the public. We have been trying to make this island realise that it is has messed up catastrophically.”
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/article841043.ece
Police investigate Jersey 'failures' over abuse claims
Police searching a former children's home in Jersey where the remains of a youngster were found said today they were investigating allegations that agencies did not deal "properly" with allegations of child abuse.
Yesterday, a sniffer dog identified six more potential burial sites in and around Haut de la Garenne, and police are continuing to search the grounds.
Lenny Harper, the Jersey deputy police chief, said the building's cellar was a "point of interest" but had been bricked up and officers were finding it difficult to gain access.
He added that the search as a "very slow and meticulous process" that was "likely to continue that way for some time".
Responding to allegations that the Jersey government had failed to address long-standing concerns about child abuse on the island, Harper said there was "no evidence of a cover-up". He added that police were looking at the role of a "number of agencies".
"If victims make allegations that they reported matters and they weren't dealt with properly, we will of course investigate this," he added.
Harper claimed the alleged failure to deal with allegations properly was "not unique to Jersey".
"Adults in those days had a different attitude to children making allegations," he said.
He said he was aware of the possibility that more remains would be discovered, but added: "Every of those [potential burial sites] has got an alternative explanation, so until we assess them - and, if necessary, excavate them - we won't get a definitive answer."
Police discovered the remains of a child under a thick concrete floor inside the Victorian mansion on Saturday.
The search for more remains is expected to take several weeks, and it will be at least a fortnight before the age and sex of the child whose remains have been found, and when he or she died, can be established.
The abuse investigation - one of the biggest ever on the Channel island - began more than a year ago after an earlier inquiry into allegations of abuse connected to the Sea Cadet Corps on Jersey.
Police saw links between suspects in the Sea Cadet case and a number of institutions on Jersey, including Haut de la Garenne.
Officers have taken statements from around 140 alleged victims who claim to have been abused while at the then children's home, as well as 40 suspects.
The allegations date back to the 1940s and up to 1986, when the home closed.
John Freeman, the joint-president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services, told guardian.co.uk that the allegations of abuse went beyond anything ever seen in the UK.
"Clearly, the discoveries on Jersey are of great concern and the investigation will have to continue as far as is necessary," he said.
"While there has been some evidence of abuse at children's homes in the UK, there have been no allegations of the seriousness that we have seen over the last two or three days in Jersey."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/25/childprotection.ukcrime
Yesterday, a sniffer dog identified six more potential burial sites in and around Haut de la Garenne, and police are continuing to search the grounds.
Lenny Harper, the Jersey deputy police chief, said the building's cellar was a "point of interest" but had been bricked up and officers were finding it difficult to gain access.
He added that the search as a "very slow and meticulous process" that was "likely to continue that way for some time".
Responding to allegations that the Jersey government had failed to address long-standing concerns about child abuse on the island, Harper said there was "no evidence of a cover-up". He added that police were looking at the role of a "number of agencies".
"If victims make allegations that they reported matters and they weren't dealt with properly, we will of course investigate this," he added.
Harper claimed the alleged failure to deal with allegations properly was "not unique to Jersey".
"Adults in those days had a different attitude to children making allegations," he said.
He said he was aware of the possibility that more remains would be discovered, but added: "Every of those [potential burial sites] has got an alternative explanation, so until we assess them - and, if necessary, excavate them - we won't get a definitive answer."
Police discovered the remains of a child under a thick concrete floor inside the Victorian mansion on Saturday.
The search for more remains is expected to take several weeks, and it will be at least a fortnight before the age and sex of the child whose remains have been found, and when he or she died, can be established.
The abuse investigation - one of the biggest ever on the Channel island - began more than a year ago after an earlier inquiry into allegations of abuse connected to the Sea Cadet Corps on Jersey.
Police saw links between suspects in the Sea Cadet case and a number of institutions on Jersey, including Haut de la Garenne.
Officers have taken statements from around 140 alleged victims who claim to have been abused while at the then children's home, as well as 40 suspects.
The allegations date back to the 1940s and up to 1986, when the home closed.
John Freeman, the joint-president of the Association of Directors of Children's Services, told guardian.co.uk that the allegations of abuse went beyond anything ever seen in the UK.
"Clearly, the discoveries on Jersey are of great concern and the investigation will have to continue as far as is necessary," he said.
"While there has been some evidence of abuse at children's homes in the UK, there have been no allegations of the seriousness that we have seen over the last two or three days in Jersey."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2008/feb/25/childprotection.ukcrime
Jersey's Chief Minister Deny Claims Children Were Murdered at Children’s Home
On Saturday police found children’s skeletons and clothing at Haut de la Garenne in Jersey, which was previously a children’s home. Until now, the chief minister has insisted there was no foul play. This has been an ongoing investigation since 2006.
Forensic teams and search dogs indicated six other locations of interest and they are now seeking more evidence. It’s alleged child abuse has been concealed in the area for many years and the trail could lead right to the top of Jersey’s citizens.
140 victims and witnesses have been questioned. Former Jersey Health Minister Mr. Syvret suspects that there was a "culture of cover-up and concealment" of child abuse on the island. The bodies discovered date back to the 1960s.
http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=68766
Forensic teams and search dogs indicated six other locations of interest and they are now seeking more evidence. It’s alleged child abuse has been concealed in the area for many years and the trail could lead right to the top of Jersey’s citizens.
140 victims and witnesses have been questioned. Former Jersey Health Minister Mr. Syvret suspects that there was a "culture of cover-up and concealment" of child abuse on the island. The bodies discovered date back to the 1960s.
http://www.shortnews.com/start.cfm?id=68766
More orphanage bodies feared
A FURTHER six or more children's bodies may be uncovered at a former orphanage on Jersey, in the Channel Islands, in a child-abuse investigation dating back 60 years, the British officer leading the case said.
Sniffer dogs have identified six potential sites after the remains of a child were found under the floor of Haut de la Garenne on Saturday, following a police investigation that has taken statements from 140 alleged abuse victims from Britain, Australia, Thailand and Germany. Two Jersey officers have flown to Australia to interview former residents of the home.
The child's remains were found under a concrete floor at the building - now a youth hostel - and are believed to include a skull, fragments of fabric, a button and what may be a hair clasp. They are to be forensically tested to determine the child's age and sex.
The senior investigating officer, Lenny Harper, said 40 suspects had been identified in the investigation, most of whom were "respected figures of the establishment" in positions of power at the home.
The inquiry began more than a year ago after officers found links between an earlier abuse inquiry involving the Jersey Sea Cadet Corps and institutions including Haut de la Garenne. In November they appealed for alleged victims of abuse to contact them. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children's hotline received four times more calls in the first week than any other British case of this type.
"We got information from three different sources that there may well be human remains here," Mr Harper said.
The alleged abuse is believed to have taken place between the 1940s and 1986, when the home was closed, with most of the attacks happening in the 1960s. "Allegations range from physical assaults right through to rape," Mr Harper said. "It is difficult to envisage more horrific crimes than some of those that are alleged to have been carried out here."
One man, Gordon Waterfield, 76, has been charged with three indecent assaults on girls under the age of 16, allegedly committed while he was employed at Haut de la Garenne. Waterfield is not being investigated in relation to the remains.
Mr Harper said some residents had reported sexual and physical abuse but agencies had failed to act. "We are talking about a different age with different attitudes. Some people suffered because they were not dealt with in the way they should have been," he said.
Jersey's former minister for health and social services, Stuart Syvret, was ousted in September after blowing the whistle on what he called "systematic and long-term failure" of child protection on the island.
"We are looking at the last six decades - since the end of the Second World War - at instances of abuse on vulnerable children, children in care. This has been swept under the carpet. It just doesn't get any worse," Senator Syvret told the BBC.
Haut de la Garenne, whose name means "top of the rabbit warren" in French, was opened in 1867 as an industrial school "for young people of the lower classes of society and neglected children" in St Martin, in Jersey's east. Standard practice reportedly saw bad behaviour punished with deprivation, flogging and solitary confinement.
Following World War II the building was used as a school and orphanage for children with special needs. After its closure it was used for the filming of the police series Bergerac. It was then converted into Jersey's first youth hostel.
The NSPCC's hotline for children and adults who may have been affected by child abuse in institutions in Jersey is: +44 (0)20 7825 7489.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/more-orphanage-bodies-feared/2008/02/25/1203788248214.html
Sniffer dogs have identified six potential sites after the remains of a child were found under the floor of Haut de la Garenne on Saturday, following a police investigation that has taken statements from 140 alleged abuse victims from Britain, Australia, Thailand and Germany. Two Jersey officers have flown to Australia to interview former residents of the home.
The child's remains were found under a concrete floor at the building - now a youth hostel - and are believed to include a skull, fragments of fabric, a button and what may be a hair clasp. They are to be forensically tested to determine the child's age and sex.
The senior investigating officer, Lenny Harper, said 40 suspects had been identified in the investigation, most of whom were "respected figures of the establishment" in positions of power at the home.
The inquiry began more than a year ago after officers found links between an earlier abuse inquiry involving the Jersey Sea Cadet Corps and institutions including Haut de la Garenne. In November they appealed for alleged victims of abuse to contact them. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children's hotline received four times more calls in the first week than any other British case of this type.
"We got information from three different sources that there may well be human remains here," Mr Harper said.
The alleged abuse is believed to have taken place between the 1940s and 1986, when the home was closed, with most of the attacks happening in the 1960s. "Allegations range from physical assaults right through to rape," Mr Harper said. "It is difficult to envisage more horrific crimes than some of those that are alleged to have been carried out here."
One man, Gordon Waterfield, 76, has been charged with three indecent assaults on girls under the age of 16, allegedly committed while he was employed at Haut de la Garenne. Waterfield is not being investigated in relation to the remains.
Mr Harper said some residents had reported sexual and physical abuse but agencies had failed to act. "We are talking about a different age with different attitudes. Some people suffered because they were not dealt with in the way they should have been," he said.
Jersey's former minister for health and social services, Stuart Syvret, was ousted in September after blowing the whistle on what he called "systematic and long-term failure" of child protection on the island.
"We are looking at the last six decades - since the end of the Second World War - at instances of abuse on vulnerable children, children in care. This has been swept under the carpet. It just doesn't get any worse," Senator Syvret told the BBC.
Haut de la Garenne, whose name means "top of the rabbit warren" in French, was opened in 1867 as an industrial school "for young people of the lower classes of society and neglected children" in St Martin, in Jersey's east. Standard practice reportedly saw bad behaviour punished with deprivation, flogging and solitary confinement.
Following World War II the building was used as a school and orphanage for children with special needs. After its closure it was used for the filming of the police series Bergerac. It was then converted into Jersey's first youth hostel.
The NSPCC's hotline for children and adults who may have been affected by child abuse in institutions in Jersey is: +44 (0)20 7825 7489.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/more-orphanage-bodies-feared/2008/02/25/1203788248214.html
Jersey police to search six more sites
Police will extend their search at a former Channel Islands children's home to six more areas today after a body was found there.
A child's body parts, thought to date from the early 1980s, were unearthed at the Haut de la Garenne house in Jersey on Saturday after a sniffer dog detected them through several inches of concrete.
"There are six other sites of interest that we have now got to look at," a Jersey police spokeswoman said. "It doesn't mean there are six other bodies."
Police said the remains had been sent to the mainland for dating.
Situated on a hilltop close to Jersey's east coast with views towards France, the imposing Haut de la Garenne building is familiar as the setting for the BBC detective series Bergerac.
Police have been investigating claims about the former children's care home for more than a year and on Saturday the discovery was made of skeletal remains, which forensic archaeologists have confirmed as belonging to a child aged between 11 and 15.
It is not yet known whether the remains are those of a boy or a girl. It is also unclear how long the remains have been buried, but Jersey's deputy chief police officer, Lenny Harper, said it was thought they had been there for more than five years.
Built in 1867, Haut de la Garenne was originally known as the Industrial School for "young people of the lower classes of society and neglected children". By the turn of the century it had been renamed the Jersey Home for Boys.
It was to continue, under various guises, as a school and orphanage until its closure in the mid-1980s. The alleged abuse is believed to have taken place between the 1960s and the early part of the present decade, with the bulk of the assaults thought to have occurred in the 1970s and 80s.
A £2.25m refurbishment transformed the two-storey Victorian building into Jersey's first youth hostel, a 100-bed venue which opened in 2004.
The area surrounding the youth hostel, renowned for its clean beaches, is today popular with walkers and birdwatchers.
But last year, police announced they were focusing on the building, as well as on the Jersey Sea Cadets, as part of their investigation into allegations of sexual and physical abuse dating back years.
Since November, 140 potential victims have come forward and 40 suspects have been identified. It was a tip-off that led police to turn their attentions to the former care home. At a news conference, Mr Harper said the search of Haut de la Garenne, which began last Tuesday, was prompted by information received from some of the victims and witnesses who had been spoken to as part of the inquiry.
"As a result of definitive indications from the ground penetrating radar, the archaeologist and also, perhaps most pronounced from the [sniffer]dog, we excavated one particular area of the house," he said.
One man has been arrested and charged with indecently assaulting three girls at Haut de la Garenne. Police said there was currently nothing to link him with the remains.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/jersey-police-to-search-six-more-sites-786759.html
A child's body parts, thought to date from the early 1980s, were unearthed at the Haut de la Garenne house in Jersey on Saturday after a sniffer dog detected them through several inches of concrete.
"There are six other sites of interest that we have now got to look at," a Jersey police spokeswoman said. "It doesn't mean there are six other bodies."
Police said the remains had been sent to the mainland for dating.
Situated on a hilltop close to Jersey's east coast with views towards France, the imposing Haut de la Garenne building is familiar as the setting for the BBC detective series Bergerac.
Police have been investigating claims about the former children's care home for more than a year and on Saturday the discovery was made of skeletal remains, which forensic archaeologists have confirmed as belonging to a child aged between 11 and 15.
It is not yet known whether the remains are those of a boy or a girl. It is also unclear how long the remains have been buried, but Jersey's deputy chief police officer, Lenny Harper, said it was thought they had been there for more than five years.
Built in 1867, Haut de la Garenne was originally known as the Industrial School for "young people of the lower classes of society and neglected children". By the turn of the century it had been renamed the Jersey Home for Boys.
It was to continue, under various guises, as a school and orphanage until its closure in the mid-1980s. The alleged abuse is believed to have taken place between the 1960s and the early part of the present decade, with the bulk of the assaults thought to have occurred in the 1970s and 80s.
A £2.25m refurbishment transformed the two-storey Victorian building into Jersey's first youth hostel, a 100-bed venue which opened in 2004.
The area surrounding the youth hostel, renowned for its clean beaches, is today popular with walkers and birdwatchers.
But last year, police announced they were focusing on the building, as well as on the Jersey Sea Cadets, as part of their investigation into allegations of sexual and physical abuse dating back years.
Since November, 140 potential victims have come forward and 40 suspects have been identified. It was a tip-off that led police to turn their attentions to the former care home. At a news conference, Mr Harper said the search of Haut de la Garenne, which began last Tuesday, was prompted by information received from some of the victims and witnesses who had been spoken to as part of the inquiry.
"As a result of definitive indications from the ground penetrating radar, the archaeologist and also, perhaps most pronounced from the [sniffer]dog, we excavated one particular area of the house," he said.
One man has been arrested and charged with indecently assaulting three girls at Haut de la Garenne. Police said there was currently nothing to link him with the remains.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/jersey-police-to-search-six-more-sites-786759.html
Specialist team in hunt for bodies at former children's home
The investigation at a former children's home in Jersey has pulled together an extensive team of specialist officers and forensic experts to hunt for more remains.
Teams at Haut de la Garenne in St Martin, on the east coast of the island, are working with sniffer dogs and specialist equipment - including ground penetrating radar - to fully excavate parts of the Jersey youth hostel.
The specialists, who range from archaeologists to scientists and pathologists, play a crucial role in discovering, preserving and identifying any remains found during a forensic examination.
But the work is being led by two sniffer dogs - one which specialises in detecting human remains and another which specialises in detecting blood.
Springer spaniel Eddie was involved in the hunt for Madeleine McCann in Portugal and was responsible for finding the remains at Haut de la Garenne through several inches of concrete on Saturday.
The seven-year-old "enhanced victim recovery dog" is said to have picked up traces of missing Madeleine in the back of Kate and Gerry McCann's car which they hired five weeks after she disappeared.
Eddie also located the body of pensioner Attracta Harron in a shallow grave in Co Tyrone in April 2003 after the 65-year-old was murdered on her way home from Mass.
Her killer, Trevor Hamilton, 23, was put behind bars for the murder - which was committed less than four months after he completed a sentence for rape.
The dog trained in detecting blood traces, three-year-old Keela, another springer spaniel, is handled by Martin Grime and works with the South Yorkshire police force.
The canine pair have already travelled around Britain and to Ireland and the US to help police investigating murder and missing person cases.
They are assisting a search team comprising police and experts from England and Scotland.
Among the group are an archaeologist and a forensic anthropologist who concluded, last week, that the remains found were not that of an adult or infant.
In terms of equipment, the team are using ground penetrating radar to explore seven areas on the property and identify any disturbances in the soil.
After a potential hidden grave or "hot spot" has been identified, forensic teams will begin carefully "clearing back" the top layer of soil.
Experts working on the investigation have dug trenches in the ground floor of the children's home and are now conducting a detailed search of the area on their knees.
This painstaking fingertip work is expected to last several weeks.
Around 17 Jersey police officers are currently working on the historical abuse inquiry.
http://www.24dash.com/news/Communities/2008-02-25-Specialist-team-in-hunt-for-bodies-at-former-childrens-home
Teams at Haut de la Garenne in St Martin, on the east coast of the island, are working with sniffer dogs and specialist equipment - including ground penetrating radar - to fully excavate parts of the Jersey youth hostel.
The specialists, who range from archaeologists to scientists and pathologists, play a crucial role in discovering, preserving and identifying any remains found during a forensic examination.
But the work is being led by two sniffer dogs - one which specialises in detecting human remains and another which specialises in detecting blood.
Springer spaniel Eddie was involved in the hunt for Madeleine McCann in Portugal and was responsible for finding the remains at Haut de la Garenne through several inches of concrete on Saturday.
The seven-year-old "enhanced victim recovery dog" is said to have picked up traces of missing Madeleine in the back of Kate and Gerry McCann's car which they hired five weeks after she disappeared.
Eddie also located the body of pensioner Attracta Harron in a shallow grave in Co Tyrone in April 2003 after the 65-year-old was murdered on her way home from Mass.
Her killer, Trevor Hamilton, 23, was put behind bars for the murder - which was committed less than four months after he completed a sentence for rape.
The dog trained in detecting blood traces, three-year-old Keela, another springer spaniel, is handled by Martin Grime and works with the South Yorkshire police force.
The canine pair have already travelled around Britain and to Ireland and the US to help police investigating murder and missing person cases.
They are assisting a search team comprising police and experts from England and Scotland.
Among the group are an archaeologist and a forensic anthropologist who concluded, last week, that the remains found were not that of an adult or infant.
In terms of equipment, the team are using ground penetrating radar to explore seven areas on the property and identify any disturbances in the soil.
After a potential hidden grave or "hot spot" has been identified, forensic teams will begin carefully "clearing back" the top layer of soil.
Experts working on the investigation have dug trenches in the ground floor of the children's home and are now conducting a detailed search of the area on their knees.
This painstaking fingertip work is expected to last several weeks.
Around 17 Jersey police officers are currently working on the historical abuse inquiry.
http://www.24dash.com/news/Communities/2008-02-25-Specialist-team-in-hunt-for-bodies-at-former-childrens-home
Ongoing abuse inquiry unearths child's remains in former home
Jersey Police found what is believed to be partial remains of a child's body at a former children's home on the island on Saturday morning.
The finding, at the former Haut De La Garenne home, which closed in 1986, came as part of an ongoing inquiry into historic institutional child abuse on the island, launched in November.
Jersey police are looking at six further sites and fear that further bodies may be found.
Last month, Gordon Claude Wateridge, of St Clement, Jersey, became the first person to be charged in connection with the inquiry.
The 76-year-old was charged with three counts of indecent assault on girls aged under 16 between 1969 and 1979 at Haut De La Garenne.
Last year, a child protection inquiry was launched in Jersey after a UK social worker blew the whistle on the “Dickensian” conditions in Greenfields secure unit. Simon Bellwood told Community Care children as young as 11 were routinely locked up for 24 hours or more in solitary confinement.
This is not thought to be linked to the police investigation.
Today Bellwood told Community Care the police find was “shocking and horrifying” and said the child care system in Jersey still did not give children adequate protection.
Speaking on the Today programme this morning, the island’s chief minister Frank Walker said “no stone would be left unturned” in the investigation and said anyone involved in “any form of cover-up” would be brought to justice.
He said there was no evidence of current malpractice or to suggest that children were at risk and claimed the island’s children’s services were “excellent.”
Walker said he would await the results of an independent review of children’s services on Jersey by UK expert Andrew Williamson, which is due to be published next month.
But former health and social services minister Stuart Syvret said he was “not confident” that the current care system was satisfactory and said he could not be certain children were safe.
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2008/02/25/107375/jersey-latest-childs-remains-found-at-former-childrens-home.html
The finding, at the former Haut De La Garenne home, which closed in 1986, came as part of an ongoing inquiry into historic institutional child abuse on the island, launched in November.
Jersey police are looking at six further sites and fear that further bodies may be found.
Last month, Gordon Claude Wateridge, of St Clement, Jersey, became the first person to be charged in connection with the inquiry.
The 76-year-old was charged with three counts of indecent assault on girls aged under 16 between 1969 and 1979 at Haut De La Garenne.
Last year, a child protection inquiry was launched in Jersey after a UK social worker blew the whistle on the “Dickensian” conditions in Greenfields secure unit. Simon Bellwood told Community Care children as young as 11 were routinely locked up for 24 hours or more in solitary confinement.
This is not thought to be linked to the police investigation.
Today Bellwood told Community Care the police find was “shocking and horrifying” and said the child care system in Jersey still did not give children adequate protection.
Speaking on the Today programme this morning, the island’s chief minister Frank Walker said “no stone would be left unturned” in the investigation and said anyone involved in “any form of cover-up” would be brought to justice.
He said there was no evidence of current malpractice or to suggest that children were at risk and claimed the island’s children’s services were “excellent.”
Walker said he would await the results of an independent review of children’s services on Jersey by UK expert Andrew Williamson, which is due to be published next month.
But former health and social services minister Stuart Syvret said he was “not confident” that the current care system was satisfactory and said he could not be certain children were safe.
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Articles/2008/02/25/107375/jersey-latest-childs-remains-found-at-former-childrens-home.html
Police search seven sites in Jersey child abuse probe
Police are searching seven sites at a former children's home on Jersey after the remains of a child were found.
Officers were alerted to Haut de la Garenne, now a youth hostel, after a child abuse investigation was launched last November over allegations dating back to the 1960s.
Intelligence from that investigation led police to investigate the home in St Martin and on Saturday the remains of a child were discovered there.
It is understood that a sniffer dog, used in the search for Madeleine McCann, found the remains through several inches of concrete and now a further six sites are to be looked at.Jersey's deputy chief police officer, Lenny Harper, said the force was treating it as a major crime and could not rule out the possibility of more bodies.
He said: "We have to treat this as a possible major crime. The intelligence was not specific; it is unclear whether there could be one or more bodies.
"Mr Harper said they planned to continue the search for two weeks and an examination by an anthropologist at the scene had concluded the remains were not that of an adult or infant.
The remains were sent to the UK for dating and police believe they have been there for more than five years.Mr Harper said their investigation began last November when a number of former staff members were arrested on suspicion of paedophile crimes.
The States of Jersey Police first started a covert inquiry into the history of the home, speaking to victims of alleged abuse before they received the intelligence that prompted the excavation.
Mr Harper said the alleged child abuse involved a number of historical allegations of sexual and physical abuse of children said to have occurred on premises run by the state or voluntary groups.
The allegations span a period from the 1960s up to the early years of this decade, although police said the bulk of them focused on the 1970s and 1980s.
Haut de la Garenne closed as a children's home in 1986. It was once a Victorian school and orphanage.
A police spokeswoman said more than 140 potential victims had contacted a helpline since the investigations began.
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Police-search-seven-sites-in.3811222.jp
Officers were alerted to Haut de la Garenne, now a youth hostel, after a child abuse investigation was launched last November over allegations dating back to the 1960s.
Intelligence from that investigation led police to investigate the home in St Martin and on Saturday the remains of a child were discovered there.
It is understood that a sniffer dog, used in the search for Madeleine McCann, found the remains through several inches of concrete and now a further six sites are to be looked at.Jersey's deputy chief police officer, Lenny Harper, said the force was treating it as a major crime and could not rule out the possibility of more bodies.
He said: "We have to treat this as a possible major crime. The intelligence was not specific; it is unclear whether there could be one or more bodies.
"Mr Harper said they planned to continue the search for two weeks and an examination by an anthropologist at the scene had concluded the remains were not that of an adult or infant.
The remains were sent to the UK for dating and police believe they have been there for more than five years.Mr Harper said their investigation began last November when a number of former staff members were arrested on suspicion of paedophile crimes.
The States of Jersey Police first started a covert inquiry into the history of the home, speaking to victims of alleged abuse before they received the intelligence that prompted the excavation.
Mr Harper said the alleged child abuse involved a number of historical allegations of sexual and physical abuse of children said to have occurred on premises run by the state or voluntary groups.
The allegations span a period from the 1960s up to the early years of this decade, although police said the bulk of them focused on the 1970s and 1980s.
Haut de la Garenne closed as a children's home in 1986. It was once a Victorian school and orphanage.
A police spokeswoman said more than 140 potential victims had contacted a helpline since the investigations began.
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news/Police-search-seven-sites-in.3811222.jp
Timeline: Jersey care home inquiry
It serves as Jersey's first Youth Hostel but today Haut de La Garenne is the focus of a police investigation after the discovery of human remains and allegations of child abuse. Here is a timeline of events around the investigation.
23 Feb 2008 - Police sniffer dog discovers human remains within building and shows 'indications' at six other sites on the property. The remains are sent to the UK for dating.
19 Feb2008 - Police excavation using sniffer dog and ground radar begins.
30 Jan 2008 - Man charged with indecently assaulting three girls under 16 in connection with investigation.
22 Nov 2007 - Police appeal for information from the public over child abuse probe investigation. They focus on the abuse of boys and girls aged between 11 and 15 since the 1960s, including links between the house and the Jersey Sea Cadets. Police helplines receive over 100 calls and emails from the public.
Helpline Information
An NSPCC helpline has been setup for people who may have been affected by abuse at the home. Within Jersey: 0800 169 1173 Outside Jersey: + 44(0)20 7825 7489 Lines open: Monday to Friday: 9am - 11pm
11 Sep 2007 - Former health minister, Senator Stuart Syvret, dismissed from his role over the manner in which he voiced concerns about children's services.
2004 - The care home re-opens as Jersey's first youth hostel after a £2.25m refurbishment of the two-storey Victorian building.
1986 - Home closed.
1900 - Home renamed the Jersey Home for Boys and serves as a school and an orphanage as part of Jersey's childcare provision, housing up to 60 young people with special needs.
1867 - Haut de la Garenne is built and was originally known as the Industrial School, for "young people of the lower classes of society and neglected children."
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/society/law_order/timeline+jersey+care+home+inquiry/1646647
23 Feb 2008 - Police sniffer dog discovers human remains within building and shows 'indications' at six other sites on the property. The remains are sent to the UK for dating.
19 Feb2008 - Police excavation using sniffer dog and ground radar begins.
30 Jan 2008 - Man charged with indecently assaulting three girls under 16 in connection with investigation.
22 Nov 2007 - Police appeal for information from the public over child abuse probe investigation. They focus on the abuse of boys and girls aged between 11 and 15 since the 1960s, including links between the house and the Jersey Sea Cadets. Police helplines receive over 100 calls and emails from the public.
Helpline Information
An NSPCC helpline has been setup for people who may have been affected by abuse at the home. Within Jersey: 0800 169 1173 Outside Jersey: + 44(0)20 7825 7489 Lines open: Monday to Friday: 9am - 11pm
11 Sep 2007 - Former health minister, Senator Stuart Syvret, dismissed from his role over the manner in which he voiced concerns about children's services.
2004 - The care home re-opens as Jersey's first youth hostel after a £2.25m refurbishment of the two-storey Victorian building.
1986 - Home closed.
1900 - Home renamed the Jersey Home for Boys and serves as a school and an orphanage as part of Jersey's childcare provision, housing up to 60 young people with special needs.
1867 - Haut de la Garenne is built and was originally known as the Industrial School, for "young people of the lower classes of society and neglected children."
http://www.channel4.com/news/articles/society/law_order/timeline+jersey+care+home+inquiry/1646647
Jersey police search cellar in house where body found
LONDON (Reuters) - Police investigating allegations of child abuse said on Monday their search of a former children's home in the Channel Islands where a body was found at the weekend was now focused on a bricked-up cellar.
A child's body parts, thought to date from the early 1980s, were unearthed at the Haut de la Garenne house in Jersey on Saturday after a sniffer dog detected them through several inches of concrete.
Sniffer dogs have identified a number of other areas of interest in and outside the house, now used as a youth hostel, said Jersey Deputy Chief Police Officer Lenny Harper, but officers were concentrating on a cellar below the building.
He said police did not know whether more bodies would be found.
"All our efforts are being concentrated on the entrance to a cellar which ... was at one stage bricked up and we are having some difficulty gaining access to that," Harper told reporters at the scene.
He said the investigation was a "very slow and methodical process ... and it's likely to continue that way for some time."
Police had as yet no idea of the identity of the discovered child, he added. Tests to determine the child's sex will be conducted in Britain.
The search of Haut de la Garenne in St Martin began last Tuesday after police received information from three different sources about the possibility of there being remains.
Last November, police launched an investigation into alleged child abuse on the island, including Haut de la Garenne.
Last month, Gordon Wateridge, 76, was charged with three offences of indecent assault on girls under 16 between 1969 and 1979 at Haut de la Garenne.
Jersey's Chief Minister Frank Walker told BBC radio that no effort would be spared in the search for those responsible.
"We need to focus all our resources on supporting fully the police investigation to ensure that ... those who apparently may have perpetrated the most horrendous, horrific crimes (are) brought speedily to justice," he said.
Senator Stuart Syvret, sacked as Jersey's health minister last year after making allegations about child abuse, told BBC radio there had been a cover-up.
"From my own research, speaking to victims from the ages of 13 to their mid to late 60s, it is clear there has been a culturally appalling attitude to vulnerable children in care in Jersey for decades," Syvret said.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUKL2517411720080225
A child's body parts, thought to date from the early 1980s, were unearthed at the Haut de la Garenne house in Jersey on Saturday after a sniffer dog detected them through several inches of concrete.
Sniffer dogs have identified a number of other areas of interest in and outside the house, now used as a youth hostel, said Jersey Deputy Chief Police Officer Lenny Harper, but officers were concentrating on a cellar below the building.
He said police did not know whether more bodies would be found.
"All our efforts are being concentrated on the entrance to a cellar which ... was at one stage bricked up and we are having some difficulty gaining access to that," Harper told reporters at the scene.
He said the investigation was a "very slow and methodical process ... and it's likely to continue that way for some time."
Police had as yet no idea of the identity of the discovered child, he added. Tests to determine the child's sex will be conducted in Britain.
The search of Haut de la Garenne in St Martin began last Tuesday after police received information from three different sources about the possibility of there being remains.
Last November, police launched an investigation into alleged child abuse on the island, including Haut de la Garenne.
Last month, Gordon Wateridge, 76, was charged with three offences of indecent assault on girls under 16 between 1969 and 1979 at Haut de la Garenne.
Jersey's Chief Minister Frank Walker told BBC radio that no effort would be spared in the search for those responsible.
"We need to focus all our resources on supporting fully the police investigation to ensure that ... those who apparently may have perpetrated the most horrendous, horrific crimes (are) brought speedily to justice," he said.
Senator Stuart Syvret, sacked as Jersey's health minister last year after making allegations about child abuse, told BBC radio there had been a cover-up.
"From my own research, speaking to victims from the ages of 13 to their mid to late 60s, it is clear there has been a culturally appalling attitude to vulnerable children in care in Jersey for decades," Syvret said.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/wtMostRead/idUKL2517411720080225
Pedophile visited site where bodies found
ST. CLEMENT, Jersey, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- A pedophile called the "Beast of Jersey" visited the former orphanage in Jersey under investigation of child abuse, officials said Monday.
Edward Paisnel was jailed for 30 years in 1971 for sexual assaults on children and women, The Daily Mail (Britain) reported Monday. He visited Haut de la Garenne orphanage in St. Clement as Father Christmas during the 1960s, officials said.
Officials said they had "no evidence" yet linking Paisnel with remains found by a police-trained dog at the orphanage or a suspected pedophile ring at the center of the investigation. Police are investigating allegations of decades-long child abuse at the facility on the island off the coast of Normandy, France.
Jersey police said the dogs and forensic teams identified six other areas meriting investigation.
"There have been a few more sites where the dog has shown interest," a police spokeswoman said. "We are looking at six more sites."
Former Jersey Health Minister Sen. Stuart Syvret, fired from his position in 2007, urged anyone at the orphanage -- now a youth hostel -- to contact authorities. His concerns about alleged child abuse prompted the States of Jersey, the island's governing body, to order a review of child-care services.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/02/25/pedophile_visited_site_where_bodies_found/1046/
Edward Paisnel was jailed for 30 years in 1971 for sexual assaults on children and women, The Daily Mail (Britain) reported Monday. He visited Haut de la Garenne orphanage in St. Clement as Father Christmas during the 1960s, officials said.
Officials said they had "no evidence" yet linking Paisnel with remains found by a police-trained dog at the orphanage or a suspected pedophile ring at the center of the investigation. Police are investigating allegations of decades-long child abuse at the facility on the island off the coast of Normandy, France.
Jersey police said the dogs and forensic teams identified six other areas meriting investigation.
"There have been a few more sites where the dog has shown interest," a police spokeswoman said. "We are looking at six more sites."
Former Jersey Health Minister Sen. Stuart Syvret, fired from his position in 2007, urged anyone at the orphanage -- now a youth hostel -- to contact authorities. His concerns about alleged child abuse prompted the States of Jersey, the island's governing body, to order a review of child-care services.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2008/02/25/pedophile_visited_site_where_bodies_found/1046/
Australian link in child abuse case
POLICE investigating the remains of a child found at a former children's home on the Channel Island of Jersey are in Australia following up possible links to the case.
An extensive search has begun at Haut de la Garenne after the remains of a child were discovered buried under a concrete floor by a specialist sniffer dog at the weekend. The search is part of an ongoing investigation into claims of child abuse at the home stretching back more than four decades. A Jersey Police spokeswoman said officers flew to Australia earlier this month as part of their inquiries. It was unknown where the officers had gone to or how many people they were intending to speak to.
"Two officers are over there at the moment speaking to people," the spokeswoman said.
Jersey Police launched an inquiry into the home in 2006 after discovering some former employees were under investigation for child abuse.
More than 140 potential victims or witnesses have come forward with allegations about their disturbing experiences at the home, with three claiming children they knew had disappeared while at the home. Detectives believe some of the victims now live in Australia and Europe.
Police overnight continued their search at Haut de la Garenne, which has operated as a youth hostel in recent years, amid fears more children's bodies could be found. A sniffer dog specially trained to locate human remains had identified a number of hotspots, including a bricked-up cellar. Jersey's deputy chief police officer Lenny Harper described the search as "a very slow methodical process".
"We have had some positive indications from the dog but there could be a number of explanations," he said. "At this stage we just don't know if there are more bodies."
Mr Harper said police were also investigating claims that allegations of abuse by children were not properly followed up in the past. "Part of the inquiry will be the fact that a lot of the victims tried to report their assaults but for some reason or another they were not dealt with as they should be," he said.
"We are looking at allegations that a number of agencies didn't deal with things as perhaps they should, we are looking at all the agencies. "We've no evidence of a cover-up by any Jersey government." The search is expected to last for another two weeks.
The remains found at the weekend are believed to have been at the site for more than five years. They have been sent to the British mainland for further examination.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23277230-12377,00.html
An extensive search has begun at Haut de la Garenne after the remains of a child were discovered buried under a concrete floor by a specialist sniffer dog at the weekend. The search is part of an ongoing investigation into claims of child abuse at the home stretching back more than four decades. A Jersey Police spokeswoman said officers flew to Australia earlier this month as part of their inquiries. It was unknown where the officers had gone to or how many people they were intending to speak to.
"Two officers are over there at the moment speaking to people," the spokeswoman said.
Jersey Police launched an inquiry into the home in 2006 after discovering some former employees were under investigation for child abuse.
More than 140 potential victims or witnesses have come forward with allegations about their disturbing experiences at the home, with three claiming children they knew had disappeared while at the home. Detectives believe some of the victims now live in Australia and Europe.
Police overnight continued their search at Haut de la Garenne, which has operated as a youth hostel in recent years, amid fears more children's bodies could be found. A sniffer dog specially trained to locate human remains had identified a number of hotspots, including a bricked-up cellar. Jersey's deputy chief police officer Lenny Harper described the search as "a very slow methodical process".
"We have had some positive indications from the dog but there could be a number of explanations," he said. "At this stage we just don't know if there are more bodies."
Mr Harper said police were also investigating claims that allegations of abuse by children were not properly followed up in the past. "Part of the inquiry will be the fact that a lot of the victims tried to report their assaults but for some reason or another they were not dealt with as they should be," he said.
"We are looking at allegations that a number of agencies didn't deal with things as perhaps they should, we are looking at all the agencies. "We've no evidence of a cover-up by any Jersey government." The search is expected to last for another two weeks.
The remains found at the weekend are believed to have been at the site for more than five years. They have been sent to the British mainland for further examination.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23277230-12377,00.html
Jersey police expand care home inquiry
London: Police extended their search at a former Channel Islands children's home to six more areas yesterday after a body was found there.
A child's body parts, thought to date from the early 1980s, were unearthed at the Haut de la Garenne house in Jersey on Saturday after a sniffer dog detected them through several inches of concrete.
"There are six other sites of interest that we have now got to look at," a Jersey police spokeswoman said. "It doesn't mean there are six other bodies." The search of Haut de la Garenne in St Martin began last Tuesday after police received information from three different sources about the possibility of there being remains. Last November, police launched an investigation into alleged child abuse on the island, including Haut de la Garenne.
Last month, Gordon Wateridge, 76, was charged with three offences of indecent assault on girls under 16 between 1969 and 1979 at Haut de la Garenne. Jersey's Chief Minister Frank Walker told BBC radio no effort would be spared in the search for those responsible.
"We need to focus all our resources on supporting fully the police investigation to ensure that those who apparently may have perpetrated the most horrendous, horrific crimes [are] brought speedily to justice," he said.
Cover-up
Senator Stuart Syvret, sacked as Jersey's health minister last year after making allegations about child abuse, told BBC radio there had been a cover-up. "From my own research, speaking to victims from the ages of 13 to their mid to late 60s, it is clear there has been a culturally appalling attitude to vulnerable children in care in Jersey for decades," Syvret said.
Sources say corporal punishment, flogging and solitary confinement in cells were "routine" as part of a "systemic failure in childcare" and that residents who died in care were reported as runaways. After three former residents told of how friends vanished, police began to suspect bodies had been hidden at the home. Asked if he expected to find more bodies, Jersey's deputy police chief Lenny Harper said: "There could be six or more. In each case the radar has tended to show some sort of disturbance under the ground where the dog has picked up the scent of something.
"We can't say it was homicide, but much of the information we are receiving leads us to this fear." More than 1,000 children are thought to have lived in the 60-bed home, now a youth hostel, from the early Fifties until its closure in the mid-Eighties. Police say they have a list of 40 suspects among former staff members at the home.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/United_Kingdom/10192678.html
A child's body parts, thought to date from the early 1980s, were unearthed at the Haut de la Garenne house in Jersey on Saturday after a sniffer dog detected them through several inches of concrete.
"There are six other sites of interest that we have now got to look at," a Jersey police spokeswoman said. "It doesn't mean there are six other bodies." The search of Haut de la Garenne in St Martin began last Tuesday after police received information from three different sources about the possibility of there being remains. Last November, police launched an investigation into alleged child abuse on the island, including Haut de la Garenne.
Last month, Gordon Wateridge, 76, was charged with three offences of indecent assault on girls under 16 between 1969 and 1979 at Haut de la Garenne. Jersey's Chief Minister Frank Walker told BBC radio no effort would be spared in the search for those responsible.
"We need to focus all our resources on supporting fully the police investigation to ensure that those who apparently may have perpetrated the most horrendous, horrific crimes [are] brought speedily to justice," he said.
Cover-up
Senator Stuart Syvret, sacked as Jersey's health minister last year after making allegations about child abuse, told BBC radio there had been a cover-up. "From my own research, speaking to victims from the ages of 13 to their mid to late 60s, it is clear there has been a culturally appalling attitude to vulnerable children in care in Jersey for decades," Syvret said.
Sources say corporal punishment, flogging and solitary confinement in cells were "routine" as part of a "systemic failure in childcare" and that residents who died in care were reported as runaways. After three former residents told of how friends vanished, police began to suspect bodies had been hidden at the home. Asked if he expected to find more bodies, Jersey's deputy police chief Lenny Harper said: "There could be six or more. In each case the radar has tended to show some sort of disturbance under the ground where the dog has picked up the scent of something.
"We can't say it was homicide, but much of the information we are receiving leads us to this fear." More than 1,000 children are thought to have lived in the 60-bed home, now a youth hostel, from the early Fifties until its closure in the mid-Eighties. Police say they have a list of 40 suspects among former staff members at the home.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/United_Kingdom/10192678.html
Childs remains discovered in 'abuse' care home
IT IS the millionaires' playground famous for having a level of crime so low that one detective was able to solve most of it single-handed.
The Channel Island of Jersey will be forever etched in the collective memory as the home of unorthodox TV cop Jim Bergerac.But the tiny island, a mere nine miles long by five miles wide, has long hidden a ghastly secret linked to the fictional police station in which Bergerac worked.
The discovery of a body at Haut de la Garenne – a former children's home which doubled as the 'Bureau des Etrangers' featured in the TV drama which ran from 1981 to 1991 – has cast a shadow over Jersey's image as a benign holiday destination.
The discovery yesterday of part of a child's body is the latest twist in an investigation which began undercover in late 2006 and involves a number of historical allegations of sexual and physical abuse of children said to have occurred on premises run by the state or voluntary groups.
And although the investigation is at an early stage, police officers are already openly admitting this could be just the start of unimaginable horror to come. The search of Haut de la Garenne was prompted by information received from some of the victims and witnesses spoken to as part of the historic child abuse inquiry.
The investigation began in November 2006 after Jersey Police noticed links between victims in a string of sexual offence convictions involving officers from the island's Sea Cadet Corps, and cases from several island institutions – including Haut de la Garenne.
The alleged physical and sexual abuse against children is believed to date back to the 1960s, and attacks at Haut de la Garenne may have taken place over three decades, although police said the bulk of them focus on the 1970s and 1980s. Built at the turn of the 20th century, Haut de la Garenne served as a school and as an orphanage before becoming part of Jersey's childcare provision. Until its closure in the 1980s, it housed up to 60 young people with special needs.
It is now a 100-bed youth hostel, run by the YHA, attracting tourists keen to explore the only part of Great Britain to be occupied by the Nazis. Police said more than 140 potential victims had contacted a helpline since they went public about the investigation at the end of last year. Many distraught victims were said to have expressed anger that their complaints had not been heeded at the time.
From those contacts, within a month police had identified more than 70 alleged victims, and at least 20 suspects. At that point, faced with such a major inquiry, Jersey Police requested specialist help from the UK. Deputy Chief Police Officer Lenny Harper admitted to the BBC in December that the allegations ranged "from pretty severe physical and mental abuse right through to the most serious sexual crimes that you can imagine". "We will of course be looking to see if there are any criminal implications into why these matters weren't dealt with, and why they weren't brought before the courts," he said.The case has echoes of the child abuse committed in Scottish care homes such as Kerelaw, in Stevenston, Ayrshire.
It was claimed as many as 40 staff members at Kerelaw preyed on vulnerable youngsters, sometimes with the full knowledge of co-workers and superiors, amid a culture of fear and collusion. Kerelaw opened in the 1970s, originally only for boys, but later taking girls. Some youngsters had committed offences; others were sent there because of unruly behaviour or difficulties at home. The school was closed after an investigation by the Care Commission and education inspectors in 2004. Former art teacher Matthew George, 57, and care worker John Muldoon, 53, were brought to justice in 2006, facing charges going back more than 30 years. George was jailed for 10 years for sexually or physically abusing several boys and a girl, while Muldoon was given a 30-month prison term on indecency charges involving three girls.
Edinburgh High Court heard of 'rag-dolling' assaults on unruly pupils by pushing and shaking them, and of how George liked to practise martial arts on the youngsters.
He also forced boys to perform sexual acts on him.
Reports last week suggested that the floodgates are set to open for compensation awards to thousands of abuse victims, with a legal ruling which will overturn a ban on historical claims. A lawyer representing about 1,000 victims of historic abuse in children's homes in Scotland said he "fully expects" a "time-bar" rule to be swept aside following a House of Lords ruling last month. Cameron Fyfe, who said that on his books he has 1,000 former children's home residents claiming abuse, added he expects the time bar north of the Border to be overturned at the Court of Session next month.
The Channel Island of Jersey will be forever etched in the collective memory as the home of unorthodox TV cop Jim Bergerac.But the tiny island, a mere nine miles long by five miles wide, has long hidden a ghastly secret linked to the fictional police station in which Bergerac worked.
The discovery of a body at Haut de la Garenne – a former children's home which doubled as the 'Bureau des Etrangers' featured in the TV drama which ran from 1981 to 1991 – has cast a shadow over Jersey's image as a benign holiday destination.
The discovery yesterday of part of a child's body is the latest twist in an investigation which began undercover in late 2006 and involves a number of historical allegations of sexual and physical abuse of children said to have occurred on premises run by the state or voluntary groups.
And although the investigation is at an early stage, police officers are already openly admitting this could be just the start of unimaginable horror to come. The search of Haut de la Garenne was prompted by information received from some of the victims and witnesses spoken to as part of the historic child abuse inquiry.
The investigation began in November 2006 after Jersey Police noticed links between victims in a string of sexual offence convictions involving officers from the island's Sea Cadet Corps, and cases from several island institutions – including Haut de la Garenne.
The alleged physical and sexual abuse against children is believed to date back to the 1960s, and attacks at Haut de la Garenne may have taken place over three decades, although police said the bulk of them focus on the 1970s and 1980s. Built at the turn of the 20th century, Haut de la Garenne served as a school and as an orphanage before becoming part of Jersey's childcare provision. Until its closure in the 1980s, it housed up to 60 young people with special needs.
It is now a 100-bed youth hostel, run by the YHA, attracting tourists keen to explore the only part of Great Britain to be occupied by the Nazis. Police said more than 140 potential victims had contacted a helpline since they went public about the investigation at the end of last year. Many distraught victims were said to have expressed anger that their complaints had not been heeded at the time.
From those contacts, within a month police had identified more than 70 alleged victims, and at least 20 suspects. At that point, faced with such a major inquiry, Jersey Police requested specialist help from the UK. Deputy Chief Police Officer Lenny Harper admitted to the BBC in December that the allegations ranged "from pretty severe physical and mental abuse right through to the most serious sexual crimes that you can imagine". "We will of course be looking to see if there are any criminal implications into why these matters weren't dealt with, and why they weren't brought before the courts," he said.The case has echoes of the child abuse committed in Scottish care homes such as Kerelaw, in Stevenston, Ayrshire.
It was claimed as many as 40 staff members at Kerelaw preyed on vulnerable youngsters, sometimes with the full knowledge of co-workers and superiors, amid a culture of fear and collusion. Kerelaw opened in the 1970s, originally only for boys, but later taking girls. Some youngsters had committed offences; others were sent there because of unruly behaviour or difficulties at home. The school was closed after an investigation by the Care Commission and education inspectors in 2004. Former art teacher Matthew George, 57, and care worker John Muldoon, 53, were brought to justice in 2006, facing charges going back more than 30 years. George was jailed for 10 years for sexually or physically abusing several boys and a girl, while Muldoon was given a 30-month prison term on indecency charges involving three girls.
Edinburgh High Court heard of 'rag-dolling' assaults on unruly pupils by pushing and shaking them, and of how George liked to practise martial arts on the youngsters.
He also forced boys to perform sexual acts on him.
Reports last week suggested that the floodgates are set to open for compensation awards to thousands of abuse victims, with a legal ruling which will overturn a ban on historical claims. A lawyer representing about 1,000 victims of historic abuse in children's homes in Scotland said he "fully expects" a "time-bar" rule to be swept aside following a House of Lords ruling last month. Cameron Fyfe, who said that on his books he has 1,000 former children's home residents claiming abuse, added he expects the time bar north of the Border to be overturned at the Court of Session next month.
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