Scot succeeds in campaign to have fresh inquiry into horrific sex abuse suffered by teenage boys in English borstal
Scot succeeds in campaign to have fresh inquiry into horrific sex abuse suffered by teenage boys in English borstal
BRAVE Scots victim, John McCabe, was abused aged 17 for six
months by prison officer Neville Husband - who is believed to have been
part of the ring of prison paedophiles.
John McCabe
Stuart Nicol
CLAIMS that a ring of violent paedophile prison officers routinely
raped hundreds of teenage boys in a borstal are finally being
investigated after an alleged cover-up.
Senior police officers have launched a major inquiry into the horrific sex abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre, County Durham.
One brave Scots victim, who has waived his right to anonymity, said: “I was raped every single day.”
John McCabe, of East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, was abused aged 17 for six months by prison officer Neville Husband.
He
added: “I was asked to work in the kitchens. That’s where I met
Husband. He told me if I didn’t do what he wanted he’d kill me and
nobody would care.
“I thought I was the only boy he abused. Now I know there were more. A lot more. And it wasn’t just him.
“Now
I’m fighting for justice for all those boys, for myself. Police fear
hundreds of young men were assaulted while at Medomsley in the 1970s and
1980s.
Husband was jailed for 12 years at Newcastle Crown Court
for mass rape of boys. Storeman Lesley Johnson was jailed for six years.
Both are now dead.
Victims say the original 2003 probe into
Husband did not go far enough and he was part of a ring of officers
involved in systematic abuse.
Police suspect at least four other prison officers were involved, along with individuals outside the centre.
And
a police officer is believed to have covered up allegations after one
victim walked into Consett Police Station in 1977 to make a statement
about abuse. His claims were ignored and his paperwork has been
destroyed.
Medomsley Detention Centre
North News & Pictures Ltd
John contacted Durham Police in 2009 – after his attacker was released from jail – to say he was also a victim.
But
after a police investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service took no
further action against Husband, saying it was not in the public
interest.
John said: “I was devastated.” But after he contacted
his MP Michael McCann – an old school friend – police have opened up the
probe.
Detective Superintendent Paul Goundry, of Durham Police,
said: “Every avenue possible will be explored and we will do our utmost
to bring perpetrators to justice.”
John is giving his full backing to the police.
He
said: “I am completely confident they will carry out a full
investigation. They are now taking seriously the claims that rapes and
other abuse took place in a number of locations, which until now had not
been identified.”
John explained how, if it wasn’t for his MP, the case may never have been examined.
He
said: “Thankfully Michael gave me his full support and with his help I
went to the police again. After he campaigned, the case was re-opened.”
