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.
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