By David Sanderson
The chief constable who resigned amid allegations of financial wrongdoing and misuse of police equipment was also being investigated in connection with his force’s dismissal of child abuse claims against a judge, The Times can disclose.
Terence Grange, who resigned from the Dyfed-Powys Police on Monday, had been accused by the judge’s ex-wife of allowing his professional relationship with the judge to influence the force’s treatment of the claims.
He left his post days after the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) launched separate investigations into potentially criminal financial irregularities and alleged misuse of a work computer.
Members of the Dyfed-Powys Police Authority had refused to offer him their continuing support.
The Times can reveal that in August the IPCC had ordered the police authority to investigate the links between Mr Grange and the judge accused of inappropriate behaviour towards children. It follows claims made by the judge’s ex-wife that the judge had given a child a sexually transmitted disease, viewed child pornography websites and misused transcripts from child abuse cases that he had presided over.
Documents sent to the IPCC said the force had concluded that there was insufficent evidence to interview the judge and decided not to analyse his computer. The force then refused to accept a further complaint from the ex-wife that the relationship between the judge and officer, who had worked together on criminal justice issues, had biased its approach. But the IPCC ruled in August that this complaint should have been investigated.
The judge, who cannot be identified, said previously: “It is not a subject I would wish to comment upon in any circumstances.”
Mr Grange, 58, did not respond to a request by The Times’s for his reaction to the bias claims. He has not spoken publicly about the IPCC investigation.
The Dyfed-Powys Police Authority did not comment on whether this investigation into Mr Grange had been dropped, or whether the initial child abuse claims made against the judge would be reinvestigated.
The IPCC is still investigating Mr Grange over potentially criminal alleged financial wrongdoings. It is now powerless to investigate the alleged misuse of a work computer because Mr Grange is no longer a serving officer.
On Tuesday the police authority revealed that Mr Grange had been accused of sending “private e-mails concerning a personal relationship”.
The authority held an emergency meeting behind closed doors on Thursday to discuss Mr Grange’s retirement. It is under fire from critics who claim that the police chief has been “let off the hook” by being allowed to leave.
Helen Mary Jones, Plaid Cymru AM for South Wales West, said yesterday that many serving officers felt that no other force member would have been allowed to walk away from such allegations. In response, the authority released a statement after Thursday’s meeting defending its actions.
It said: “The emergency committee considered that there were issues in front of them that raised questions about Mr Grange’s judgment and it was important to maintain confidence within the authority, force and our communities. It therefore decided that it was in the public interest that his offer to retire should be accepted with immediate effect.”
Mr Grange was spokesman for the Association of Chief Police Officers on child protection issues and caused controversy last year when he asked whether it was appropriate for young men who had sex with 15-year-old girls to be described as paedophiles.
He became Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys Police in 2000, where he has presided over improvements in police performance and a reduction in crime. This year he was given a two-year extension to his contract.
When Mr Grange announced his retirement, Tony McNulty, the Home Office Minister, said that he should be congratulated for having “made a significant contribution to policing in Wales”.
The IPCC said: “Once he left the police force we no longer had any power to investigate him for computer misuse. But the allegations of financial irregularities are different because, potentially, they could be criminal.”
Mr Grange has been replaced by Acting Deputy Chief Constable Andy Edwards.
Life in uniform
— Joined the Army at 15, serving with the Parachute Regiment
— Joined the Metropolitan Police in 1971 and came third out of 1,100 candidates in his promotion exams
— He has a masters degree in public services
— Chosen for accelerated training on special course for sergeants at the Police Staff College, Bramshill
— In 1988 he transferred to Avon and Somerset Constabulary as a superintendent
— In 1994 he was made Assistant Chief Constable
— On March 17, 2000, he was appointed Chief Constable of Dyfed-Powys Police
— He is married with three adult daughters
November 2, 2007
Judge accused of child abuse ‘let off by police’
By David Sanderson
A chief constable is being investigated over his force’s dismissal of child abuse allegations against a judge.
The police watchdog stepped in after claims that the officer allowed his professional relationship with the circuit judge to prejudice the force’s actions. The complainant, the judge’s estranged wife, alleged that he gave a child a sexually transmitted disease, viewed child pornography websites and misused transcripts from child abuse cases that he had presided over. There were also allegations of mortgage fraud and domestic violence.
Documents sent to the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and seen by The Times said that the force concluded that there was insufficent evidence to even interview the judge and decided not to analyse his computer. The force refused to accept a further complaint from the accuser that the working relationship between the judge and the officer, who worked on a criminal justice panel together, had biased its approach.
The IPCC has now ordered an investigation into the alleged bias. The Times also understands that the case is being investigated by the Judicial Appointments and Conduct Ombudsman, Sir John Brigstocke, who became involved after the allegations about the judge were reported to the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA). The accuser expected it to bar the judge from presiding over child abuse cases. When it did not, the ombudsman was brought in.
A letter to Sir John, also seen by The Times, claims that the DCA also failed to “address an allegation against [the judge] of unhealthy misuse of transcripts relating to child sexual abuse cases”. The complainant alleged that the judge had taken the transcripts home for his own sexual gratification and that police were given a video that showed the judge masturbating.
The case has raised questions about the IPCC’s complaints procedure. When the complainant first contacted the watchdog with her complaints about the police investigation, it told her to submit the complaint in two parts: one about the alleged bias, and one about the perceived failure to follow proper investigatory procedures, such as seizing computers. She did not resubmit the second part, relating to the police investigation, until 28 days after the police force rejected her complaints. The IPCC ruled it to be out of time and therefore could not investigate it.
Its ruling says that the “allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards children, domestic violence and mortgage fraud” did not constitute “special circumstances” allowing it to extend the 28-day period. The force will not be required to reinvestigate the claims against the judge.
The chief executive of the police force authority said: “The IPCC has instructed us to record the complaint but in doing so we need to obtain further information.”
Asked about the allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards children, the judge said: “It is not a subject I would wish to comment upon in any circumstances.”
— Mohammed Ilyas Khan, 61, a judge who is under investigation for his involvement in a sex blackmail case, received his third pay rise since being forced to step down as a Crown Court Recorder last year. He remains on full pay, now £110,812.