Deceased suspects may not be identified

POLICE may not be publicising the names of suspects in the child abuse case who are now dead.

Deputy police Chief Lenny Harper was asked by the media yesterday if the force would be publicising the names of people against whom they had gathered evidence but were now deceased.

He said: ‘I’m not sure that we will publish their names, but there will be a closing report on the case, and we will give details to victims in some respects,’ he said.

Mr Harper said that the force would not be investigating to a conviction standard those who had subsequently died.

Did he believe the public should know that those suspects – even though they were now dead – had played a role in the child abuse case?

‘I don’t think that is a question for me, really,’ he said.

Mr Harper confirmed that all suspects they were concentrating their main inquiries on were alive and living in the Island or in the UK. The number of suspects has now increased to over 40 following many new calls police have received from victims and witnesses in the past two weeks.

Published 4/3/2008

Source