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Gruesome discovery in Jersey cellar has exposed island's dark heart
An ever-increasing tally of victims and suspects threatens to expose a dark heart beating beneath the island’s idyllic exterior.
FROM its austere clifftop perch, Mont Orgueil, a 13th-century fortress designed to ward off potential invaders, casts a gloomy shadow over a remote corner of Jersey. But a far darker spectre now looms over the island. Less than a mile away stands another imposing landmark which may well have witnessed scenes of horrific violence and bloodshed.
That building is Haut de la Garenne.Since a part of a child's skull was unearthed in a hidden cellar last weekend, the 19th century structure – built to house "neglected and destitute children and young people of the lower classes of society" – has become a byword for unimaginable cruelty and abuse. An ever-increasing tally of victims and suspects threatens to expose a dark heart beating beneath the island's idyllic exterior. Tourist brochures describe Jersey as the "life-affirming" island, blessed with mile after mile of clean, golden sand and with residents who are as rich and desirable as its famous milk. But an altogether different image appears when you speak to some residents of this tiny semi-independent outpost of the British crown.
Rake up the sand, they say, and you'll find a culture of closed doors, scratched backs and mouths that remain firmly – yet sometimes reluctantly – shut. Some suggest that the excesses of a powerful ruling elite has allowed Jersey to become tainted by systematic corruption and abuse of power. In some quarters there is even talk of paedophile rings being shielded from justice by a vast Masonic-style conspiracy. Others insist Jersey is merely a typical close-knit community which has been tainted by a handful of bad apples. But has endemic and institutionalised child abuse been covered up on the island and, if so, why?
Another visitors' guide to Jersey is eerily prescient in a chapter on folklore: "It seems that each part of the island has a spine-chilling tale to tell." The guide tells of a medieval boat tragedy when dozens of youngsters and their parents were drowned. "When a storm is brewing the cries of childrem can still be heard echoing aound the cliffs," it says. The screams of the young victims at Haut de la Garenne went largely unheard, but, unmistakably, their ghosts are haunting the conscience of islanders today
Stuart Syvret, Jersey's former health and social security minister, is in no doubt that an officially orchestrated "culture of concealment" has been in place from the late 1940s until the present day. Syvret, one of the island's 52 elected MPs or Senators, claims to have uncovered deeply disturbing evidence that abuse of vulnerable youngsters had been going on in state-run institutions for decades. Early in 2007, he went public with his claims, but was "shouted down" by his colleagues in the States Assembly and even had his microphone switched off. Despite standing alone and facing vitriolic denouncements he refused to be silenced.
Soon after, Syvret, the politician who received more votes than any other on the island at the last election, was relieved of his post amid claims that he had "undermined the morale" of staff. The left-leaning Senator became a pariah and a figure of hate and derision among his conservative colleagues. Unknown to them, Jersey police had been conducting their own parallel investigation, which led to the discovery of human remains at Haut de la Garenne.
Syvret, whose Harry Potter glasses lend him the appearance of an earnest college lecturer, believes he is finally on the brink of getting justice for Jersey's silent victims. "The reason why 95% of allegations of abuse have gone unheard and unreported is that Jersey is a closed society which operates in practice like a one-party state." Unlike in the UK, where there is a separation of powers, in Jersey he says there there is an unhealthy overlap between the legislature and the judiciary.
He claims corruption has allowed Jersey to become a safe haven not just for tax-exiles, but for dark secrets. "The island is very dependent on the finance industry and the business elite have become the local oligarchs. They work together, play golf together, drink together and go to the same dinner parties. What this means is that when a scandal emerges their first reaction is to try to stamp on controversy. Their attitude is: 'Don't air dirty laundry in public, it may damage Jersey's reputation.'"
Syvret believes he is battling against a secretive, halting democracy. The island's "Bailiff", Sir Philip Bailhache, is both president of the legislature and head of the judiciary. His brother, William, is the Attorney-General, a role which in Jersey doubles-up to include the role of chief prosecutor.
Until recently, Frank Walker, the Government head or Chief Minister, was chairman of the company that owned the island's only newspaper, the Jersey Evening Post. In recent days the paper has published editorials condemning Syvret and his "damaging" political agenda. Walker's wife, who works under her maiden name of Fiona Spurr, is a well-known broadcast journalist on the island.
The past seven days is not the island's only scandal of recent years. In 1992, Roger Holland, a 43-year-old St John's Ambulance volunteer, was allowed to join the island's honorary police, who are elected and hold more power than UK special constables, despite being a convicted paedophile who had indecently assaulted a 14-year-old girl with learning difficulties in 1986. In 1999, by which time he had been promoted to the rank of Vingtenier, the second most senior in the island force, Holland resigned after being accused of molesting another young girl in the back of a police van. He was finally jailed in 2001 for two counts of indecent assault.
The Holland case led to the Constable of St Helier, Bob Le Brocq, and Chef de Police, Ted Gallichan, being quizzed at police HQ over allegations that they attempted to pervert the course of justice, but no charges were ever brought.
It is claimed that a general acceptance that children in care needed to be treated "robustly" allowed a culture of almost unspeakable cruelty and barbarism to take root at Haut de la Garenne, which operated as a children's home until 1986.
More than 160 people who claim to have been abused at the institution have spoken to police andabout the rapes, beatings and torture which they say they saw happen routinely over the 30-year period which is being investigated. Others talk of hearing screams and having their friends disappear overnight – with the routine explanation being given that they had run away or been sent to the UK. Some say they were drugged with tranquilisers before being abused at drunken parties organised by staff, to which people from outside the home were invited.
Those harrowing first-hand accounts led police to focus on a bricked-up cellar beneath one wing of the building. When police broke through they found a fragment of a skull bone along with shackles and a bath tub. They have now uncovered a trap-door leading down to the room which they believe was used as a torture chamber. They think they will find a labyrinth of similarly concealed rooms.
Search dogs trained to detect blood and decomposing bodies have indicated several areas of interest and the excavations are expected to last for weeks. One man, who spent his entire childhood in the home, revealed it was split into four different sections, with distinctly Scottish names. Steve, who is now 38, recalled: 'Aviemore' was for the babies and younger children. 'Dunluce' was for the older children. 'Claymore' was for 'normal' youngsters who hadn't done anything wrong. But 'Baintree' was the cellar area where the children who misbehaved lived. "As a child I'd hear the other kids talk about it. They'd say if you're naughty, be careful, you'll end up down there in Baintree."
The former resident claims he was abused sexually and physically by staff and by other youngsters. Steve told a teacher about the abuse he suffered and, after he'd left the home, a probation officer. He claims both took no notice of his allegations. Chillingly, he claims to have received a call from one of his former childcare officers who urged him to remain silent. He said: "This person suggested that it was all in the past and that dredging it up wouldn't help matters and would cause more problems."
Police confirm they are investigating allegations of intimidation and have identified more than 40 suspects but deny that they have evidence of a Government cover up. Deputy Police Chief Lenny Harper said: "All I will say is that the people we have identified come from all aspects of island life."
The recent revelations have unleased waves of shock and revulsion around the globe, but Jersey does not feel like a community in mourning. The atmosphere is business as usual. One passing farm worker shakes his head: "Don't you get the message, mate? We don't like people coming over here and stirring up dirt."
For some people, however, the police investigation is an awful confirmation of what they always suspected. "Don't let any of the politicians tell you that there weren't stories of awful things going on at that home," said one resident.
"We all knew. For years you would hear mothers warning their children to behave or they would send them to Haut de la Garenne. We could have complained until we were blue in the face, but the authorities would never have listened. They are a law unto themselves. The only thing that is transparent on this island are the jellyfish on the beach."
The Rev Lawrence Turner, whose picturesque parish church at St Martin's is close to Haut de la Garenne, believes that a culture of fear prevented people from speaking out. He recounts a tale of a young and compassionate matron who left abruptly after spending just a few short months at the isolated children's home in the 1970s.
"The question is why did she leave? The understanding is that she couldn't stand what was happening there. You have to bear in mind that whistle-blowing is not easy, particularly in Jersey. If she had gone public would she have got another job in that line of work on the island? In all probability the answer is no."
When pressed as to why that would be the case, the softly-spoken cleric gives an intriguing response: "In Jersey there are wheels within wheels. A lot of the families are so intertwined in their family trees that wherever you step you are treading on twigs. If you upset Fred Bloggs and got him thrown into prison for abusing a child then Fred Bloggs' second cousin twice removed is likely to be on the board of the people who are employing you next."
Turner hints that he believes that certain facts, both trivial and important, have been suppressed in the past."Sometimes in Jersey people decide that self-preservation is a better option than speaking out." The vicar said there was little chance of being able to keep a low profile in a community of less than 90,000: "If I sneeze when I arrive back at the airport in Jersey I always joke that by the time I get home there will be a coffin waiting for me. The thing about island life is that everybody is clinging to the same rock and, unlike the mainland, you can't just get into a car and disappear."
Yet, that is exactly what is believed to have happened to a number of this society's most vulnerable citizens while they were in state care. Jersey's most senior politician insists the "full force of the law" will be used to bring the guilty to justice. "None of us imagined that children in Jersey could be abused and mistreated in the way that is being suggested," said Walker. "I express my shock and horror."
Was there a Government cover-up, Chief Minister? "There was no cover-up. If there was then I certainly had no knowledge of it."
Back at the vicarage Turner is looking to the future. "I suspect there will have to be convictions before most of the population can begin to come to terms fully with what has happened," he predicts. "There is going to have to be a lot of forgiveness and a lot of sympathy. We have got dirty linen in Jersey and there is no point in trying to hide it in a basket. We need to take it out and wash it fully in public and make sure it never, ever, gets soiled again."
Outside, a number of restaurants, cafés and tourist attractions are all boasting that they are "Jersey's best kept secret". If only it were so.
Uncovering Haute de la Garenne's history of abuse
SENATOR STUART SYVRET
Jersey's former health minister was deposed last year after he "blew the whistle" on accusations of systematic abuse at the Haut de la Garenne care home. He has since used his position in the island's Assembly to call for justice for the victims and for a full and independent inquiry.
SENATOR FRANK WALKER
The island's Chief Minister had pledged there will "no hiding place" for abusers on Jersey. He has been strongly critical of Syvret, who he has accused of attempting to make political capital out of the tragedy. His rival has in turn accused him of dragging his heels. Last week BBC microphones recorded Walker hissing at Syvret: "You are trying to shaft the image of Jersey internationally." Walker later denied making the remark when questioned by Jeremy Paxman.
LENNY HARPER
Jersey's deputy police chief is leading the biggest investigation ever seen on the island. The genial Irishman has fronted numerous press conferences and rarely declines an invitation to speak to the media. "We have nothing to hide and justice must be seen to be done," he insists. Harper has revealed that the force has identified more than 40 suspects.
EDWARD PAISNEL
The notorious Beast of Jersey was a regular visitor to Haut de la Garenne during his reign of terror in the 1960s. He dressed as Santa and gave toys and sweets to children to groom them before abusing them. He encouraged his victims to call him Uncle Ted. He was jailed for 30 years for assault, rape and sodomy in 1971 and died in 1994
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