PERVERT preacher Neville Husband is out of prison today - sparking claims he served a soft sentence.Having served just over half his 10-year sentence, the bolts were slid back on his cell on Friday before he was escorted by guards to the gates.
But as the sex offender tasted freedom, several of his victims expressed their anger at the injustice.
The 71-year-old preyed on juvenile inmates at the former Medomsley Detention Centre in Consett, County Durham, in the 1970s and 1980s.
Married father-of-one Husband, formerly of Shotley Bridge, County Durham, ran the kitchens at the borstal from 1975 to 1981 and later became a minister of Brighton Road and Cromer Avenue URC churches in Gateshead.
One victim, who can’t be named for legal reasons, said: “He shouldn’t have been let out. Whilst I was put in prison for something the same as stealing apples from an orchard, I was completely destroyed in there. It has affected my entire life and I’m still fighting it now.”
The 50-year-old, added: “He was an absolute monster and I want to warn other people. Whilst his victims have to suffer their entire lives for what he has done, he is already out and free.”
Another said he was so angry vile Husband had been released after just six-years. He said: “No-one will be safe from this man. He is a vile predator who has his way as he can talk you around anything.
“What he did to me will always be with me. Once I thought I was going to die, he choked me until I passed out. He got me into such a way that I didn’t try to stop him. But it has affected me so much during my life and it still does.
“When my son was born I was convinced that everyone was a paedophile and I sank deeper and deeper into depression. I went to see my doctor after I tried to take my life. I still have my moments, but I’m managing to get on with my life. I’m sure there are people out there who are still struggling and aren’t getting any help.
“It is shocking that he has been released. People need to be aware of how dangerous he is.”
A 50-year-old victim, who has moved away from the region, said Husband would always be a child predator.
He said: “I understand that he has been released as that is the law. But the man has an appetite for children, it isn’t something he can control. It is like an alcoholic who can’t keep away from the drink. Husband will always be a danger to other people.
“I think don’t think any of us will fully get over it, ever. People were terrified of him.”
And a 46-year-old man, from Newcastle, who suffered at the hands of the vile sex offender, added: “It was a black day the day he was released. People must not forget what he did and how many lives he has ruined.
“Whilst he served a short sentence, all his countless victims have been given a life sentence by what he has done. He tried to make out he was a pillar of the community, when actually he was attacking young boys. I’m still suffering, and there is still a long way to go but it is better to just not think about it too much.
“It was like a conveyor belt of young, helpless boys coming through for him over those years.”
In February 2003, Husband was jailed for eight years for molesting five teenagers. He had pleaded not guilty but was found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court. In September 2005 the shamed clergyman was given an extra two years for abusing four other youngsters.
He’ll strike again says victim
A MAN who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of the Medomsley monster has warned people he will strike again.
The borstal was meant to give young offenders a short, sharp shock. Instead, many were left scarred for life, haunted by a brutal catalogue of sex attacks.
Kevin Young, who waived his right to anonymity to speak to the Chronicle, was targeted by the pervert when he was sent to Medomsley for handling a stolen watch in 1977.
He suffered at the hands of Husband, including being hung by the neck, photographed while he lay bound, blindfolded and naked.
Secret papers obtained by the Chronicle in 2006 stated that prison officers suspected Husband was preying on inmates but did nothing.
Documents hidden for nearly 40 years revealed Husband had been investigated for importing child pornography at a borstal in Dorset a decade before he staged his attacks.
A second officer was also convicted of indecently assaulting a male prisoner, who had been introduced to him by Husband, of Shotley Bridge.
The pair continued to abuse the same boy after he was released.
Now Mr Young, from Jarrow, South Tyneside, wants to warn others against the pervert preacher as he has been released. The 50-year-old said: "I think we will hear more about Husband in the future.
"He is very ill and sick, and I don’t think he will change. Given the first opportunity he will reoffend. I should never have been subjected to the attacks I was subjected to in light of what was known about him in 1967."
Mr Young is urging any other victims to contact his Newcastle-based support group Justice4Survivors.
Pervert attacked inmates
PERVERT preacher Neville Husband was jailed for a series of sick attacks on young prison inmates.
The married United Reformed Church minister was arrested in June 2001 and "strenuously" denied molesting teenage boys while he was a warder in charge of a detention centre kitchens.
But a Newcastle Crown Court jury found him guilty, in 2003, of indecently assaulting five vulnerable teenagers between 1974 and 1984. They also convicted him of another serious sex offence against one of the victims at the former Medomsley Detention Centre near Consett in County Durham. The then 65-year-old clergyman showed no trace of emotion as the jury returned its verdicts at the end of a two-week trial.
Husband was also investigated for importing gay child pornography into the prison service 10 years before he staged the attacks.
One victim, Kevin Young, blocked the ordeal from his mind but due to a chance encounter with his attacker decades on. The full impact of the abuse finally hit home, and the 50-year-old launched a bid for compensation from the Home Office, claiming more could have been done to prevent the attacks.
Mr Young challenged legislation arguing victims could not lodge claims more than three years after they were targeted. Law Lords ruled it should not apply in sexual abuse cases because victims often don’t appreciate the harm they have suffered until much later in life. The Home Office soon dropped their appealleaving the door open for him to secure a cash payment, likely to have been settled out of court.
Tyneside North MP Stephen Byers backed a bid by victims to track down Husband’s fellow prison officers who may have known what he was doing but failed to act.
Pervert preacher Neville Husband out of prison
by Laura Caroe, Evening Chronicle Oct 12 2009