Detectives seeking truth in island scandal have had impact north of Border, writes TANYA THOMPSON
THEY ARE the forgotten victims of child abuse whose dark secrets have languished in police files for a generation. As far back as the early 1960s, the terrified children of Haut de la Garenne were courageous enough to report maltreatment but their al
legations were systematically ignored. Only now are their voices being heard by detectives determined to press ahead with one of Europe's biggest abuse investigations.
The three senior officers spearheading the Jersey inquiry, each with strong Scottish connections, have been instrumental in changing attitudes in the tight-knit island community that appears to have turned a blind eye to sickening accounts of violence, sexual abuse and possibly murder.
The search for the truth began in earnest two years ago with the arrival of the force's chief officer, Graham Power, the former Deputy Chief Constable of Lothian and Borders. He and his colleagues were quick to challenge the status quo, furious that too many complaints from abused children had fallen on deaf ears.
Described by a close friend and former colleague as a "straight-talking Yorkshireman", he has a wealth of experience in high-profile investigations and is seen as a man who will "not rest until he gets to the truth".
The friend said: "He is absolutely the best man for the job. Graham is a Yorkshireman who is very straight, to the point of bluntness.
"He is a tough character... a very robust and resolute man. If he feels something is right he will do it... come hell or high water."
Mr Power is certainly not afraid of making unpopular decisions. In 1998 he issued a damning report, criticising Grampian Police for its handling of a child murder inquiry. Scott Simpson was killed in July 1997, hours after being abducted by the paedophile Steven Leisk. According to the report by Mr Power, Leisk's presence in Aberdeen was known to police and he could have been identified. Power exposed bad practice among senior colleagues and his report went on to criticise the force for failing to put an officer in charge of the inquiry.
"I can't think of any way you could influence or lean on this man... when he is taking a course of action that he believes to be right," an Edinburgh colleague added.
"He has handled big inquiries... and delivered a very unpopular report on Steven Leisk. He is not afraid of making unpopular decisions."
The Scots-born Detective Inspector Alison Fossey is another key player who has made a big impression in Jersey, questioning outdated attitudes to child protection work. Now in charge of the public protection unit on the island she is described by colleagues as "an integral part" of the team and a woman who has a "passion" for child protection work. The 40-year-old officer, originally from Glasgow, was part of the covert operation which carefully pieced together information before appealing to abuse victims to come forward.
Mr Power's deputy, Lenny Harper, is a high-flying Ulsterman who had worked in both uniform and CID for the Metropolitan Police, moving to Strathclyde Police in 1991 on promotion to the rank of chief inspector, quickly rising to the rank of superintendent.
Mr Power, Mr Harper and Ms Fossey selected a small team of officers and support staff, including some from England and Scotland, to ring the changes. Few people were told about what was going on at headquarters in Jersey, while the Haut de la Garenne investigation was kept secret for more than a year.
They had become concerned at the number of sex crimes committed by volunteers at the sea cadet unit in the island's capital, St Helier. While they were re-examining those crimes, detectives realised a number of victims claimed they had also been assaulted elsewhere. Soon they were investigating events at Haut de la Garenne, Greenfields and another home, La Preference.
Jo Duncombe, a child abuse consultant who has worked on a number of cases in Jersey, said it was crucial that the senior officers had been brought in from overseas.
"Jersey is an insular place where they keep themselves to themselves. I've worked there on child abuses cases and there was a lot of covering up.
"It's immensely important for someone to come in looking at it from a different angle.
"This is a small community and you don't know who is going to be involved. It's much easier to stir things up as an outsider.
These officers have done a good job in moving things forward."
All three officers are regarded as bringing huge expertise to a small force that would not have seen anything like this scale of inquiry. Ms Fossey has 15 years' service with the police and after obtaining a law degree at Aberdeen University she began her career at Lothian and Borders, transferring to Strathclyde Police where she built a formidable reputation in the Female and Child Unit from 1995.
Until the arrival of Mr Power and his colleagues, there have long been whispered claims that children taken into care have suffered serious physical and sexual abuse at the hands of social services staff, and that other people, including government officials and police officers, have failed to investigate.
In a small community such as Jersey, with a population of just 90,000 and a police force of about 250, "outside officers" clearly have their work cut out. The desire for discretion appears firmly entrenched on Jersey but Mr Power and his officers are working hard to gain people's trust, especially since he himself says some of the suspects are influential figures within Jersey society. "It's certain a small number of people who are being named did have some official connection with the Jersey establishment," he said. "It would be astonishing if there were not – this is a small island where many people are in the establishment."
Before they revealed the existence of the investigation last November, the team set up telephone helplines for victims, staffed – in England – by police and the NSPCC. Before long police had compiled a list of 40 suspects, many of whom worked at Haut de la Garenne, after talking to more than 160 alleged victims and several dozen witnesses.
Allan Watts, head of news and content at ITV Channel Television, based in Jersey, believes the islanders are finally ready to set the record straight.
"Jersey is a microcosm of the UK... and the issues we face are exactly the same as elsewhere.
" There is a wariness and it takes time to get used to people coming in.
"But there seems to be a willingness on the island for the police to thoroughly investigate this. We need to clear our name."
BIG CHANGES IN CHILD PROTECTIONTHE 1980s saw a revolution in child protection work, when people became more aware of the sexual abuse of children and began to discuss the problem openly.
For years prior to that, children who made allegations of cruelty were often accused of "crying wolf" and their claims left uninvestigated.
Major changes included the Children Scotland Act, which brought a sea change to child protection work in the 1990s. For the first time, a child protection order ensured the abuser was removed from the home, rather than a child automatically being placed in local authority care.
The Orkney child sex abuse scandal resulted in a judicial inquiry by Lord Clyde, who heavily criticised social workers, police and child care agencies. Nine children from four South Ronaldsay families were taken into care in February 1991, amid allegations of organised child sex abuse.
The children, it was claimed, were at risk due to ritual sexual abuse by parents and a local minister. It was also alleged that there was a satanic element. Within hours, they had all been flown off the island and four sets of parents had begun a high-profile media campaign to get their children back.
Orkney was invaded by the world's press, lawyers, TV crews and self-styled child abuse experts with experience of the three other major cases of alleged child abuse: Cleveland, Rochdale and Nottingham.
After the publication of Lord Clyde's damning report into the way the case was handled by the council's social work department, writs for substantial damages were lodged.
It took Sheriff David Kelbie less than two days to dismiss the "flawed, incompetent" Orkney case and demand the children be returned to their families without delay.
A further report, in October 1992 produced almost 200 recommendations for changes in child care practices.
In Rochdale in 1989, there had been similar accusations after 20 children were taken from their beds in terrifying dawn raids. Social workers were fiercely criticised in court for tearing happy families apart with flawed interview techniques.
