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