Jersey abuse victims receive ‘threats’ from former carers

From The Times
March 1, 2008

Forensic officers examine the scene at Haut de la Garenne, in the corridor where a skull was found last weekend

David Brown and Simon de Bruxelles
Former workers at the Jersey care home, where a child’s skull was found, have been warned by police they risk arrest if they approach any witnesses or victims.

Some of the 160 people who claim they were abused at the Haut de la Garenne home, say they are being intimidated by their former care workers to prevent them giving evidence.

One man, who would only give his name as Steve, said an associate had been telephoned by one of his former child care officers this week and given a threatening message to pass on.

“This person had suggested I have a good life, a very good job, a family, I’ve left the island, it’s all in the past and that dredging it up won’t help matters, it will cause more problems,” he said.

“I said I’d already spoken to the police about it and she said, ‘Well I know that but if they speak to you again, certainly about the remains, it would be in your best interests to say I’ve told you all I know and keep a low profile’.”

Other victims have made similar claims. Police said earlier this week that although Jersey’s current child care system had been fully co-operative, some former staff had been obstructing the investigation.

Steve, a 38-year-old IT worker from Telford, Shropshire, is one of more than 160 people to have complained that they were subjected to serious physical and sexual abuse while at the Haut de la Garenne from the 1960s to its closure in 1986.

He said that the cellar area of the home was called “Baintree” by staff and was where children who misbehaved were forced to live.

Police broke through the ceiling of the bricked-up cellar earlier this week and found a large concrete bath and a pair of shackles. They believe there are further significant items in an adjoining bricked-up room.

“As a child I’d hear the other kids talk about it,” Steve said. “They’d say if you’re naughty be careful you’ll end up down there in Baintree. We knew there were canes down there, I don’t know about shackles but we knew about pillory stock things.”

Lenny Harper, deputy chief officer of Jersey Police, said that detectives were investigating claims of witness intimidation. “We are in the realms of the possibility of very serious criminal offences,” he said.

A hole where a trapdoor had been created was uncovered yesterday in a room close to a 20ft long by 8ft wide stairwell where part of a child’s skull was found last Saturday. An anthropologist and an archaeologist are currently working at the site of the skull find. They have removed the top layer of concrete and have excavated six to eight inches of material.

Mr Harper said: “The existence of the trapdoor corroborates exactly what people have been telling us.”

Search teams began removing topsoil yesterday from the field behind the home were members of the public had reported finding bones. “The bones are still in the ground,” Mr Harper said. “They could be animal bones but we can’t be sure until we find them.” Searches have also started at another adjoining field where a police dog indicated the presence of possible human remains last week.

Mr Harper said that more victims had come forward, with two people claiming that they suffered sexual abuse at the home. “Two people have reported extremely serious allegations of crimes which happened here,” he said. “Serious sexual crimes.”

Victims being interviewed include children who went on to become sex offenders. Police have spoken to several prisoners held at Jersey’s La Moye jail and plan to travel to the mainland prisons in the coming weeks.

Mr Harper said: “I would not want people who have offended in the past to be put off from talking to us because they fear we might treat them differently.”

Among those likely to be interviewed are Martin Heuze, 42, who was given an indefinite jail sentence last August after being convicted of indecently assaulting a women in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. He had previously been jailed in Jersey for raping a girl in the island in 1995. He was cleared of rape in 1988 and 2005 but was convicted of assaulting both women. Heuze’s lawyer said that he had suffered abuse in Jersey’s children’s homes and had witnessed violence on women which may have affected his personality.

Another alleged abuse victim to became a sex attacker is Christopher Curtin, 47, who was jailed for five years last November for indecent assault, procuring an act of gross indecency and possessing 3,500 paedophile photographs. His lawyer said that he had been the victim of sustained abuse at the children’s home, a claim that police said they would investigate.

Two of the home’s longest serving staff said yesterday that they could recall no abuse at the home. Tony and Morag Jordan, of Kirriemuir, in Angus, worked as house parents from 1971 to 1984. The couple released a statement through their lawyer which said: “During their time, Mr and Mrs Jordan found their stay to be a rewarding experience in helping disadvantaged children to overcome their problems. They noticed nothing untoward in relation to the care of the children in their charge. They look forward to giving such assistance as they can to the police. They have nothing to hide.”

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