Tuesday 28/01/2014
A SCOT who claims he was a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a
notorious borstal officer has succeeded in his campaign to convince
police to investigate allegations of a cover-up at a detention centre.
Medomsley first made national headlines in 2003 when Neville Husband, an officer there, was sentenced to 10 years in jail for raping several teenagers.
In 2012, East Kilbride man John McCabe, now 49, broke his 30-year silence on the abuse he suffered as a 17-year-old at the hands of Husband in an interview with the Evening Times.
He called for a full investigation into the abuse and the alleged cover-up, despite Husband having died in 2010.
On the news that Durham Police are looking into the alleged cover-up, Mr McCabe said: "It took me a long time to come to terms with the events that took place at Medomsley when I was a young man.
"I had to live with the shame and the humiliation of those memories every hour of every day.
"But with the support of my family I found the courage to speak out about what happened in that place and to search for justice not just for me, but for the many victims.
"I went to my local MP, Michael McCann, for help and with his complete support, our campaign to have the Medomsley investigation re-opened succeeded.
"I've given the police everything I know but I also know that our calls for witnesses to come forward have led to nearly 150 victims contacting the police and telling their stories, many for the first time. The police must now be left to get on with their work."
Durham's Chief Constable, Mike Barton, pledged all the allegations would be thoroughly investigated.
stef.lach@eveningtimes.co.uk
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