Friday 28 March 2014

Police to review all deaths at Medomlsey Detention Centre as part of abuse probe


The Northern Echo: Police to review all deaths at Medomlsey Detention Centre as part of abuse probe  
Police to review all deaths at Medomlsey Detention Centre as part of abuse probe 
 
DETECTIVES, who fear an organised paedophile ring may have been responsible for abuse at a North-East detention centre, said last night their investigation had widened to include a number of deaths.

Police say there is growing evidence of an organised paedophile ring operating at the former Medomsley Detention Centre, near Consett, County Durham, 40 years ago.

More than 500 victims have contacted Durham Constabulary alleging sexual and physical abuse at the Home Office-run centre, near Consett, between the late 1960s and early 1980s.

A previous police investigation led to the conviction of prison officer Neville Husband who was jailed for ten years for sexually abusing several teenagers at the centre.

After being released from prison, he died of natural causes at his home, in nearby Shotley Bridge, four years ago.

A new investigation, launched in August last year, has become the largest of its kind the force has dealt with.
Detective Superintendent Paul Goundry who is leading the inquiry codenamed Operation Seabrook, said his team would be re-examining files of all deaths at Medomsley.

He said: “We will be working with the County Durham coroner Andrew Tweddle to review all the deaths that happened in Medomsley.

“We will be briefing him and looking at the deaths as a line of inquiry.”

The Northern Echo is aware of two deaths, including that of 17-year-old David Caldwell, from Hebburn, in January 1982.

He suffered a severe asthma attack at the centre and was pronounced dead on arrival at nearby Shotley Bridge Hospital.

The teenager, who was serving a three-month sentence for theft, had allegedly been left unsupervised on Medomsley’s medical wing for two hours as his condition deteriorated.

An inquest concluded the youth had died of natural causes, but his family alleged he had been beaten and forced to do harsh physical training in the weeks leading up to his death.

Sister Carole Kyle last night welcomed a review into her brother’s death.

She said: “I am pleased my brother's death will be reviewed. My family and I want justice for him and would like to see a full investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.

“I know that he died of asthma, but have always said he was brought on by his ill-treatment at Medomsley.
“When I went to visit him before he died I noticed bruises on his neck. He told me prison officers had done it, but did not want me to complain as he feared his treatment would get worse.”

Police say their investigation has uncovered evidence of a culture of violence far beyond the system of governance they expected to find.

Referring to the David Caldwell case, Det Supt Goundry said: “”The family came forward during the initial investigation in 2001 when the case was reviewed by a senior investigation officer.

“Obviously they didn’t have the 500 victims that have come forward today. We will review that file when we have worked through all the victims that have come forward. We are working with the family.”

In 2009, the Government paid 12 Medomsley victims a total of £512,000 in compensation for what they suffered. However, the Home Secretary Jack Straw refused to apologise.

Det Supt Goundry said that, as well as sex abuse at the centre, there was evidence of a brutal regime "where violence was both extreme and routine".

He said: “We always knew this would be a major inquiry, but the scale of it and the sheer number of victims who have come forward has been a shock.

 "From the statements, there is growing evidence to suggest there was an organised paedophile ring operating in Medomsley.

"This will form a major part of our operation and future discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service."

Police have not ruled out prosecutions, even though the alleged incidents happened four decades ago.

Anyone with information should contact detectives on 101 or any of the support services advertised on a dedicated page set up on durham.police.uk.

Source 

 Notice



Durham Constabulary would like anyone who has suffered abuse or has information which may assist the enquiry to contact them on 101 or 0345 60 60 365.

A call handler will take the caller’s details which will be referred to the ‘Operation Seabrook’ team. Further contact and investigation will then be carried out by specialist detectives who are highly trained and experienced in dealing with sensitive abuse cases.

The investigation is being lead by a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO), Det Supt Paul Goundry and a Deputy SIO, Det Chief Insp Brad Howe.
NSPCC FREEPHONE HELPLINE (24 hrs): 0808 800 5000
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children                                  

The helpline is available for anyone who has concerns about a child or anyone including adults who wish to discuss their own experience of abuse as a child or young person.

Contact can also be made via e mail : help@nspcc.org.uk  or by text 88858
Contact can be made anonymously if the caller so wishes.

NAPAC
National Association for People Abused in ChildhoodFreephone (from landline or a Virgin, Orange or 3 mobile) 0800 085 3330.

If you are calling from a mobile provided by O2, Vodafone or T-Mobile an alternative freephone number is 0808 801 0331. This is not a 24 hr service 

The Meadows:
The Meadows Sexual Assault Referral Centre (Darlington and Co Durham) 0191 301 8554
The Meadows will accept calls between the hours of 9am-3.30 pm Monday to Friday and can arrange one-to-one counselling sessions and can make referrals to similar centres throughout the UK.

Counselling does not involve discussing what has happened in relation to the assault, it aims to help you work through your feelings to aid the healing process.

Staff at the Meadows will not contact the police without your consent unless there are current concerns in respect of a child or vulnerable adult. 

Call for justice for teenager who died in Medomsley Detention Centre three decades ago


The Northern Echo: Carol Kyle's brother David Caldwell who died at Medomsley. 
Carol Kyle's brother David Caldwell who died at Medomsley.
A WOMAN has called for justice for her brother – 32 years after he died in the notorious Medomsley detention centre.

An inquest ruled that David Caldwell who suffered asthma attack at Medomsley Detention Centre had died of natural causes.

But his sister Carole Kyle and her family have always believed it was his ill-treatment at the hands of officers at the Home-Office run institution, near Consett, County Durham, that triggered the fatal attack.

And she has called for a full investigation into the circumstances of the 17-year-old’s death, while he served a three-month sentence for theft.

Ms Kyle of Hebburn, South Tyneside, vividly recalled the moment she spotted the bruises on his neck when she went to visit him She said: “I asked him “What happened and I want the truth?”. He said it was the prison officers that did it.

“I got up from the table and said “I am going to report it now”, but he asked me not to saying it would only make things worse for him if I did. He was petrified.”

Weeks later the teen was dead.

Ms Kyle said: “When I went to identify his body the first thing I saw when they pulled the sheet back he had loads of bruises on his neck.

“I asked how he had got them and was told it probably happened when they were trying to bring him around. But I don’t accept that.

“I mentioned this at the inquest but they weren’t interested.”

Ms Kyle also told the inquest that scratches on his legs were caused by him being kicked around by prison officers.

She told the inquest: “He said when they were scrubbing floors if they didn’t say “sir” it would happen.
“The first day he was there he didn’t say “sir” and was hit and slapped across the face.

“The inquest was a waste of time. They just weren’t listening.”

Mother Sylvia Caldwell said at the time of the inquest her son was forced to do harsh physical training including repeated press-ups against his will and was beaten by prison staff, leaving him with bruising.

Ms Kyle said: “I have always said David died of asthma. I have got asthma, too, and I know if you get agitated it can bring it on - and he had asthma worse than me. I believe the attack was brought on by his ill-treatment.

“Even though he was in there he was a quiet lad. He wouldn’t be able to help himself he wouldn’t fight. He would just do as he was told.

“He was just a joker. No bother. He was arrested after he was caught driving a tractor on a building site. He got three months, but I have always said he got life.”

She added: “I feel the case should be reopened and all the circumstances surrounding my brother’s death investigated.

“I just want justice. So do my brothers John and Alan and my mother Sylvia."

David would have been 50 years old on Valentine’s Day. Instead of a party, the family placed flowers on his grave, as they do every year.

The grieving will never end but, if they get answers, the family may be able to move on.

Source 

 Notice



Durham Constabulary would like anyone who has suffered abuse or has information which may assist the enquiry to contact them on 101 or 0345 60 60 365.

A call handler will take the caller’s details which will be referred to the ‘Operation Seabrook’ team. Further contact and investigation will then be carried out by specialist detectives who are highly trained and experienced in dealing with sensitive abuse cases.

The investigation is being lead by a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO), Det Supt Paul Goundry and a Deputy SIO, Det Chief Insp Brad Howe.
NSPCC FREEPHONE HELPLINE (24 hrs): 0808 800 5000
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children                                  

The helpline is available for anyone who has concerns about a child or anyone including adults who wish to discuss their own experience of abuse as a child or young person.

Contact can also be made via e mail : help@nspcc.org.uk  or by text 88858
Contact can be made anonymously if the caller so wishes.

NAPAC
National Association for People Abused in ChildhoodFreephone (from landline or a Virgin, Orange or 3 mobile) 0800 085 3330.

If you are calling from a mobile provided by O2, Vodafone or T-Mobile an alternative freephone number is 0808 801 0331. This is not a 24 hr service 

The Meadows:
The Meadows Sexual Assault Referral Centre (Darlington and Co Durham) 0191 301 8554
The Meadows will accept calls between the hours of 9am-3.30 pm Monday to Friday and can arrange one-to-one counselling sessions and can make referrals to similar centres throughout the UK.

Counselling does not involve discussing what has happened in relation to the assault, it aims to help you work through your feelings to aid the healing process.

Staff at the Meadows will not contact the police without your consent unless there are current concerns in respect of a child or vulnerable adult. 

Medomsley Detention Centre 'paedophile ring' may have abused hundreds


Neville Husband  
Neville Husband was jailed for 12 years in 2003 for abuse

Related Stories

Hundreds of vulnerable boys at a detention centre may have been abused by a paedophile ring in the 1970s and 1980s, police fear. 

The Durham force said it was "shocked" after getting hundreds of calls after a BBC programme about sexual and physical abuse was shown in January.

A spokeswoman said there were now up to 500 victims claiming physical or sexual abuse at the Medomsley juvenile centre.

Two members of staff at the centre were jailed in 2003 and 2005 over the abuse.

Prison officer jailed
  Durham Police said many former inmates who had been in touch since the BBC Inside Out programme was shown were now get counselling.

The majority of men - about 340 - claim they were physically assaulted and around 160 said they were sexually abused.

The centre closed in 1988 after the abuse came to light, but has since reopened as a secure training unit.
Neville Husband, who worked at the detention centre as a prison officer, was jailed for 12 years for in 2003 for sexual abuse.

Leslie Johnson, a store man, was sentenced to six years in 2005. Both men have since died.

However, police are investigating if other people were involved in abusing boys at the centre.

A spokeswoman for Durham Police said: "We are now looking at potentially 500 victims linked to Medomsley."

More on This Story

Related Stories

 Source

 Notice



Durham Constabulary would like anyone who has suffered abuse or has information which may assist the enquiry to contact them on 101 or 0345 60 60 365.

A call handler will take the caller’s details which will be referred to the ‘Operation Seabrook’ team. Further contact and investigation will then be carried out by specialist detectives who are highly trained and experienced in dealing with sensitive abuse cases.

The investigation is being lead by a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO), Det Supt Paul Goundry and a Deputy SIO, Det Chief Insp Brad Howe.
NSPCC FREEPHONE HELPLINE (24 hrs): 0808 800 5000
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children                                  

The helpline is available for anyone who has concerns about a child or anyone including adults who wish to discuss their own experience of abuse as a child or young person.

Contact can also be made via e mail : help@nspcc.org.uk  or by text 88858
Contact can be made anonymously if the caller so wishes.

NAPAC
National Association for People Abused in ChildhoodFreephone (from landline or a Virgin, Orange or 3 mobile) 0800 085 3330.

If you are calling from a mobile provided by O2, Vodafone or T-Mobile an alternative freephone number is 0808 801 0331. This is not a 24 hr service 

The Meadows:
The Meadows Sexual Assault Referral Centre (Darlington and Co Durham) 0191 301 8554
The Meadows will accept calls between the hours of 9am-3.30 pm Monday to Friday and can arrange one-to-one counselling sessions and can make referrals to similar centres throughout the UK.

Counselling does not involve discussing what has happened in relation to the assault, it aims to help you work through your feelings to aid the healing process.

Staff at the Meadows will not contact the police without your consent unless there are current concerns in respect of a child or vulnerable adult. 

Paedophile ring uncovered by Durham Police investigating Medomsley detention centre

The senior investigating officer believes that there are many more victims than they previously thought

Kashmira Gander Author Biography

Friday 28 March 2014

Police investigating sexual abuse at the Medomsley detention centre in Durham believe they have uncovered an organised paedophile ring which operated in the 1970s and 1980s, it has been reported.

Detective Superintendent Paul Goundry, the senior investigating officer leading the 70-officer strong inquiry into the abuse claims, told the Guardian that they are now looking into a complex paedophile ring.

He added that many more victims are thought to have been affected than previously thought.

“We always knew this would be a major inquiry but the scale of it, and the sheer number of victims who have come forward, has been a shock.”

He told the newspaper that the team has also found evidence of a “brutal regime where violence was both extreme and routine.”

The officers aim to pursue prosecutions against the people who committed offences, some of which reportedly occurred over 40 years ago.

Almost 100 men have already come forward as victims and had started to receive therapy.

Police officers had thought that two men who were imprisoned for abusing boys and have since died, Neville Husband and Leslie Johnson, were “bad apples” at the centre.

Husband was imprisoned for eight years in 2003 for sexually abusing five young male inmates between 1977 and 1984, and had his sentence increased in 2005 when new victims came forward and he admitted to attacking four more boys.

Following an investigation by the newspaper, it later emerged that Husband had raped boys at the centre on a daily basis for over 15 years.

Storeman Leslie Johnson was jailed for similar offences in 1977, according to the newspaper.

But the latest findings led Durham Police to believe that Husband was part of a group of paedophiles who systematically preyed on vulnerable teenagers, particularly those who had been in care and did not have family who would visit them.

Goundry told the Guardian his officers had been shocked and sickened at evidence given by former inmates.

"From the statements, there is growing evidence to suggest there was an organised paedophile ring operating in Medomsley. This will form a major part of our operation and future discussions with the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service]."

He added that the purpose of the investigation was to encourage victims to come forward, to prosecute abusers, and to give victims after-care.

Many of the men who suffered abuse were detained for petty crimes, but some were so severely affected by abuse that they have been unable to work or leave their homes.

The team is also investigating physical abuse and the allegedly culture of violence at the centre.

Source 

 Notice



Durham Constabulary would like anyone who has suffered abuse or has information which may assist the enquiry to contact them on 101 or 0345 60 60 365.

A call handler will take the caller’s details which will be referred to the ‘Operation Seabrook’ team. Further contact and investigation will then be carried out by specialist detectives who are highly trained and experienced in dealing with sensitive abuse cases.

The investigation is being lead by a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO), Det Supt Paul Goundry and a Deputy SIO, Det Chief Insp Brad Howe.
NSPCC FREEPHONE HELPLINE (24 hrs): 0808 800 5000
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children                                  

The helpline is available for anyone who has concerns about a child or anyone including adults who wish to discuss their own experience of abuse as a child or young person.

Contact can also be made via e mail : help@nspcc.org.uk  or by text 88858
Contact can be made anonymously if the caller so wishes.

NAPAC
National Association for People Abused in ChildhoodFreephone (from landline or a Virgin, Orange or 3 mobile) 0800 085 3330.

If you are calling from a mobile provided by O2, Vodafone or T-Mobile an alternative freephone number is 0808 801 0331. This is not a 24 hr service 

The Meadows:
The Meadows Sexual Assault Referral Centre (Darlington and Co Durham) 0191 301 8554
The Meadows will accept calls between the hours of 9am-3.30 pm Monday to Friday and can arrange one-to-one counselling sessions and can make referrals to similar centres throughout the UK.

Counselling does not involve discussing what has happened in relation to the assault, it aims to help you work through your feelings to aid the healing process.

Staff at the Meadows will not contact the police without your consent unless there are current concerns in respect of a child or vulnerable adult. 

Durham police uncover paedophile ring with more than 500 potential victims

Head of major inquiry into Medomsley detention centre in County Durham shocked by scale of historical sexual abuse
Neville Husband in 2003 when he was jailed for sexual abuse at Medomsley detention centre
Neville Husband in 2003 when he was jailed for historical sexual abuse as a prison officer at Medomsley detention centre in County Durham. 
Photograph: Paul Kingston/NNP

Police investigating sexual abuse at a Durham detention centre say they believe they have uncovered an organised paedophile ring operating in the 1970s and 80s with more than 500 potential victims.

The head of a 70-strong major inquiry into historical abuse at the Medomsley detention centre, near Consett, told the Guardian the inquiry was triggered by mounting evidence about isolated individuals. However, they were now investigating a complex paedophile ring, with many more victims than previously thought.

Detective Superintendent Paul Goundry, senior investigating officer, said: "We always knew this would be a major inquiry but the scale of it, and the sheer number of victims who have come forward, has been a shock."

He said that as well as sexual abuse they had evidence of a "brutal regime where violence was both extreme and routine". He suggested that prosecutions would be pursued for the offences, some of which occurred more than 40 years ago.

Nearly 100 men who had come forward were already receiving therapy via a local sexual assault referral centre and others had sought support from the children's charity NSPCC.

The inquiry began after the Guardian revealed in 2012 the plight of several victims of a prison officer at the centre, Neville Husband, suggesting that his abuse there, which had been known about for several years, was more extensive than previously thought.

Husband, by then a church minister, was jailed for eight years in 2003 for committing sex attacks on five young male Medomsley inmates between 1977 and 1984. His sentence was increased to 10 years in 2005 after new victims came forward and he admitted to attacks on four more boys.

Husband had been in sole charge of the kitchens at Medomsley. The 2012 Guardian investigation revealed he had raped boys on a daily basis for more than 15 years, while other staff allegedly turned a blind eye. His former colleague Leslie Johnson, a storeman, was jailed for six years in 2005 for sexual offences.

The pair, who have since died, were originally thought to be "bad apples", but now Durham police are convinced that Husband was part of a group of paedophiles who systematically preyed on vulnerable teenagers, particularly those who had been in care and did not have family who would visit them.

Medomsley Detention Centre  
Medomsley Detention Centre, near Consett, County Durham 
Photograph: NNP 

The investigation into abuse at Medomsley is the biggest undertaken by the police force.

Goundry said his officers had been shocked and sickened at evidence given by former inmates. "From the statements, there is growing evidence to suggest there was an organised paedophile ring operating in Medomsley. This will form a major part of our operation and future discussions with the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service]."

Goundry said the purpose of the investigation was threefold: to encourage victims to come forward, to prosecute surviving abusers and to help victims with belated after-care. He said officers were dealing with many men who were sent to Medomsley for petty crimes and had their lives ruined by the experience – some of them have never managed to work and still cannot leave their houses.

The investigation was also looking at victims of physical abuse at Medomsley. The team talked of a culture of violence above and beyond what was regarded as an acceptable level of discipline at the time.

In 2009, the then Labour government paid out a total of £512,000 in compensation to 12 Medomsley victims. For six years, the Home Office had fought compensation claims, using the statute of limitations to avoid payment in a costly legal fight that went all the way to the House of Lords, and even suggesting that one victim was "genetically predisposed" to being abused.

Those who were compensated hoped for an apology from the government, but the then home secretary, Jack Straw, told them "the terms of the agreement did not include an apology".

Kevin Young was sent to Medomsley in 1977 for receiving stolen property (a watch his brother had given him). In 2012, he told the Guardian he had been raped on a daily basis by Husband; sometimes at the centre, and other times at Husband's home by a number of abusers.

Kevin Young, who was abused while he was at Medomsley detention centre 
Kevin Young, who was abused at Medomsley detention centre when he was 17. 
Photograph: Gary Calton for the Guardian

After being released a day before his 18th birthday, Young went straight to Consett police station to report what had happened at Medomsley and was told it was a criminal offence to make such allegations against prison officers when he was on licence. "They were basically threatening to take me back to Medomsley, so I scattered pretty quick."

Young said this week he was not surprised by the scale of the current police operation, just saddened that it hadn't happened earlier. "In 2000, when I told police what I suffered and saw at Medomsley, I knew Husband was one of the most prolific sex abusers this country has seen. Despite all the alarm bells, he was allowed to abuse boys throughout his whole career as a prison officer."

Anyone with information which may assist the inquiry can contact 

Durham police on 101 or 0345 60 60 365.

Timeline

1969: Prison guardian Neville Husband is arrested for possession of pornographic material while working in a kitchen at Portland Borstal in Dorset. The material depicts teenage boys. Police and the prison service accept his explanation that he was researching a book on homosexuality.

1970: Husband moves to Medomsley.

1977: Kevin Young is sent to Medomsley and immediately after his release reports being raped by Husband to local police. He is told he will be arrested for making complaints about prison officers.

1985: Storeman Leslie Johnson is arrested at Medomsley. Prison officers find pornographic material and sex aids in Husband's locker. Husband is transferred to Frankland prison. No action is taken against him.

1990: Husband retires from the prison service and receives an Imperial Service medal for serving with "diligence and fidelity".

1990: Johnson pleads guilty to sexually assaulting two boys, one at Medomsley. He receives a nine-month suspended sentence.

2003: Husband is jailed for eight years for attacks between 1977 and 1984.

2005: Husband's sentence is increased to 10 years after he admits further abuse.

2005: Johnson is jailed for six years for separate sexual offences.

2007: The CPS decides it is "not in the public interest" to proceed with charges that Husband abused a boy at Deerbolt youth offenders' institution after he left Medomsley and Frankland.

2009: The government pays £512,000 in compensation to 12 victims.

2010: Husband dies.

2012: The Guardian reveals that Husband's abuse was on a greater scale than previously thought. Police re-open the investigation after more victims come forward.

2014: Durham police say they are investigating an organised paedophile ring operating from Medomsley with more than 500 potential victims.

Source 

 Notice



Durham Constabulary would like anyone who has suffered abuse or has information which may assist the enquiry to contact them on 101 or 0345 60 60 365.

A call handler will take the caller’s details which will be referred to the ‘Operation Seabrook’ team. Further contact and investigation will then be carried out by specialist detectives who are highly trained and experienced in dealing with sensitive abuse cases.

The investigation is being lead by a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO), Det Supt Paul Goundry and a Deputy SIO, Det Chief Insp Brad Howe.
NSPCC FREEPHONE HELPLINE (24 hrs): 0808 800 5000
National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children                                  

The helpline is available for anyone who has concerns about a child or anyone including adults who wish to discuss their own experience of abuse as a child or young person.

Contact can also be made via e mail : help@nspcc.org.uk  or by text 88858
Contact can be made anonymously if the caller so wishes.

NAPAC
National Association for People Abused in ChildhoodFreephone (from landline or a Virgin, Orange or 3 mobile) 0800 085 3330.

If you are calling from a mobile provided by O2, Vodafone or T-Mobile an alternative freephone number is 0808 801 0331. This is not a 24 hr service 

The Meadows:
The Meadows Sexual Assault Referral Centre (Darlington and Co Durham) 0191 301 8554
The Meadows will accept calls between the hours of 9am-3.30 pm Monday to Friday and can arrange one-to-one counselling sessions and can make referrals to similar centres throughout the UK.

Counselling does not involve discussing what has happened in relation to the assault, it aims to help you work through your feelings to aid the healing process.

Staff at the Meadows will not contact the police without your consent unless there are current concerns in respect of a child or vulnerable adult. 

Beatings and sleep torture – Sunderland Medomsley abuse victim speaks out



Ian Farrer, who claims he was physically abused while at the Medomsley Detention Centre.
















Ian Farrer, who claims he was physically abused while at the Medomsley Detention Centre.
A FORMER inmate of a detention centre subjected to a police investigation today told how he was beaten by officers on a daily basis

Ian Farrer relived the horror of the “screw attacks” which have stayed with him for the past 27 years.

Mr Farrer, of Castletown, Sunderland, was just 17 when he was sentenced to four months at the centre in February 1987 for handling stolen goods.

The 45-year-old is understood to be among at least two dozen former inmates, from or currently living in Sunderland, Washington and Houghton, who have been in touch with detectives making allegations of abuse.

In August last year Durham police announced it was opening a new investigation into claims inmates at the Home Office-run centre were either sexually or physically abused during their time at Medomsley, between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s.

Mr Farrer said: “Even before I arrived there, people were telling me how terrible it was, comparing it to Tenko on the television.

“I soon learned just how bad it was. One day, when we were standing out on parade in the yard, one of the buckles on my gaters was loose.

“The prison warden was walking round and the next thing I remember was receiving a massive blow to my kidneys and hitting the ground.

“I was completely out of breath but that didn’t stop him giving me another crack around the head.

“I can say that, during the four months I was in there, I can’t remember a day going by when there wasn’t some form of physical abuse.

“I really just thought that’s how prisons were. It wasn’t the inmates we were scared of, it was the screws.”

Mr Farrer fortunately escaped the sexual abuse which other inmates at the centre at the time allege.

An earlier investigation led to a former catering officer at the prison, Neville Husband, being jailed in 2003 for abusing a number of young men over a period of time.

He died in 2010, following his release. The detention centre housed young men from across the region and Scotland, including many from Wearside.

Mr Farrer added: “They would wake you up in the middle of the night by banging metal bars against the pipework before making you do bunnyhops all around the place.

“After I got released, I would often wake up in the night, thinking I was still there, hearing the rattling of the pipes.”

Mr Farrer said he knew of youths there who would deliberately break their own leg to avoid having to do the punishing physical education sessions that would often lead to violence.

At the weekend, the former inmate spoke to detectives from Durham Police, investigating the centre, about the abuse he suffered.

It is thought there may be more victims from the city who have yet to come forward.

Durham Police are currently investigating hundreds of claims of abuse at the centre.

Source