Tuesday 28 January 2014

TV report into detention centre draws significant response

11:08pm Monday 27th January 2014 in News
A TELEVISION investigation into abuse claims at a North-East detention centre drew a significant response, it was reported tonight.

About 50 new allegations were made to police after the BBC Inside Out report into Medomsley Detention Centre aired this evening.

Detectives announced in August they were starting a new investigation into allegations young men sent to the centre near, Consett, County Durham, were abused by staff.

Since then, 143 people have reported they had been victims of sexual or physical abuse at the centre between the late 1960s and mid-1980s, but that number now seems likely to increase.

In 2003, a previous police investigation called Operation Halter led to the conviction of Neville Husband, a prison officer at the centre.

Husband was initially jailed for eight years after being found guilty of abusing five youngsters.

The publicity surrounding the trial then led to others coming forward and Husband was subsequently jailed for a further two years for these attacks.

After being released from prison he died from natural causes in 2010.

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