Social Work Today And Peter Righton

Big thank you to Spotlight for this one.

Social Work Today was the in-house journal of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and the Residential Care Association (RCA).

Social Work Today published dozens of columns, letters and articles by ‘child care specialist’ Peter Righton throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Righton was later exposed as being part of a network of paedophiles who abused boys in children’s homes and schools across the UK.

In 1992, when the magazine reported on Righton’s trial for illegally importing child abuse material (Boy Photo Number One and Die Sammlungej), they failed to mention his long association with Social Work Today.

David Smith (67) Prolific Paedophile

A former BBC chauffeur, who was found dead on the day of his trial for child sex offences, was a prolific paedophile with 22 previous convictions for offences against boys, it has been revealed.

David Smith, 67, who was charged with sex offences as part of the Jimmy Savile inquiry, was found dead in his home in Lewisham, South London on Monday.

Mr Smith, 67, who drove for TV personalities including Savile in the 1980s, had been due to stand trial for allegedly abusing a 12-year-old boy in 1984.

When he failed to show a warrant was issued for his arrest, with officers discovering a body when they arrived at his home.

There are fears that he took his own life, the Sun reported.

Judge Alastair McCreath ordered that the case be closed, leading to the lifting of reporting restrictions on Mr Smith’s previous convictions, which dated back to 1966.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said yesterday: “Police attended a private address as a man had failed to appear at Southwark Crown Court.

Yet Another Haringey Failing.

A toddler suffered horrific abuse after a series of blunders by social workers, police and doctors in a case that has chilling echoes of the Baby P tragedy.

Haringey council, which was also at the centre of the Baby P scandal, today “apologised unreservedly” after the abuse of a new child named as Child T emerged.

Over a period of eight months, Child T was taken to hospital at least three times and on one occasion he had more than 50 bruises on his body. He had been beaten with a “belt, stick and a cable”.

The report, published today by the Haringey Local Safeguarding Children Board, reveals a number of missed opportunities to stop the abuse earlier.

The board’s chairman, Graham Badman, said: “What is clear is that because of failings in the system this child suffered physical abuse that could have been prevented.”

The report was published as a parole board ruled Baby Peter’s mother, Tracey Connelly, can be released after serving four years in prison.

The new abuse case also comes 13 years after the death of Victoria Climbie who Haringey also failed to protect. 

Child T’s injuries were first noted four years after the death of 17-month-old Peter Connelly.

Thatcher, Wallace and Savile, To Name A Few.

I first compiled this piece in February, but was persuaded not to publish it at that time.
It brings together quite a few facts about Kincora, Colin Wallace, UK Gov. Buck Palace and acknowledgement years ago, by those in a position to stop it - that the abuse was pandemic.

Ken Livingstone said:-

"I was raising in parliament against Mrs Thatcher the Kincora Boys Home
where boys were being abused and MI5 was filming it because they were
hoping to be able to blackmail senior politicians in Northern Ireland.
They were hoping to catch one of Ian Paisley's MP's - and they never did
- and give themselves some leverage. The truth is there's been an awful
lot of covering up of paedophiles and paedophile rings for decades and
decades."

PARLIAMENT COVERED UP CHILD ABUSE FOR DECADES
These few sentences prove that Politicians of all parties have known for decades  about  the involvement of  M15 and the Police in the sexual abuse of innocent British children.  It demonstrates how  M15 and the Police  were not just involved in the cover-up but were actively  using the sexual abuse of children as a tool to control Politicians and  Judges.

This power over Politicians and Judges has given them the ability to create a Police State where the  organised criminal endeavours of a sophisticated Rogue Police Organisation can be conducted with impunity and protected from exposure.

1n 1985 Geoffrey Dickens Tory MP provided a 50 page dossier to Leon Brittan who was Home Secretary at the time.  Unsurprisingly nothing happened as Leon Brittan himself  has been named as part of the Paedophile Ring.   The Mirror wrote  "The 50 pages contained information about suspected paedophile rings, police misconduct and abuse of boys in a care home."

Operations Fernbridge, Fairbank, Cayacos; Contact Info.

From Gojam over at TheNeedleBlog

How many witnesses does it take to get a conviction?

Obviously, it varies, but I’m guessing if I were asking a policeman that question he’d probably tell me that you simply can’t have too many witnesses.

There is a reason for me pointing this out. At some time in the future, it could be a year from now or even two years, but at some time Operation Fairbank and the historic abuse operations that have arisen from it will become inactive (investigations technically never close). Now, that certainly isn’t going to happen before the trials of the three people already charged and, if there are more arrests, the date will get pushed back, but it will happen at some point.

The Metropolitan Police’s Paedophile Unit has around 25 police officers and eight of those are working on Operation Fairbank-related historic investigations. They’ve not had any increase in resources over this last year despite the widely reported increase in victims coming forward nationally and their primary focus must always be to intervene in cases where a child is in danger right now. I don’t believe anyone, regardless of how passionate they are about seeing justice for those making historic allegations, would question that the protection of children today, right now, must always be their priority.

It is simply naive to think that The Met are going to keep a dedicated team, one third of the Paedophile Unit, looking at historic allegations indefinitely.

So, this really is it. Operation Fairbank exists to try to bring to justice those who may have escaped it for the past 40 years. I cannot foresee that there will ever be a dedicated Met police operation looking at these matters quite like this one ever again.

What I’m trying to get around to saying is this; if you are a witness with information that can help, or a victim of abuse related to Elm Guest House or have any allegation of a similar nature which relates to a VIP, whether that is an MP, member of the House of Lords, or anyone in a position of authority then if you do not contact Operation Fairbank/Fernbridge/Cayacos with that information while these investigations are still active, it will be far harder to get justice afterwards.

I’m acutely aware that there may be victims of child sexual abuse who have moved on with their lives, they may be married and perhaps their spouses are unaware of what happened to them as a child. They may read The Needle and they may be hoping that the person that abused them will receive the justice that they know that person deserves but they are unwilling to come forward themselves. To these people I would say that I’m confident any communication you have with this dedicated team would be treated with delicacy and respect for your current situation.  It may well be that you could provide the final piece of the jigsaw that sees the person who abused you put behind bars.

It may be that a victim of child sexual abuse feels that previous trouble with the law means that the police will not take them seriously. To these people I want to say that I can assure you that that is not the case. You will be listened to and accorded the same courtesy as anyone else.

It may be that you are a vital witness or that you possess crucial evidence, or that you have information that Operation Fairbank need to complete the picture. To these people I want to say, please do not assume that someone else is going to provide that information. Please step forward and help.

To help you in this I’m going to supply the Operation Fairbank telephone number- 0207 1610500

I’ve had this number since the beginning of the year. I’ve only passed it on to two others in that time and I’ve only called it myself twice. If you ring that number you will be asked to leave a message and someone will call you back. On the couple of occasions I’ve called a very nice female detective, whose name I will not make public, has called me back. Please be aware that this team are very busy but they will call you back.

Here is the telephone number for Operation Fairbank again - 0207 1610500

If you are a victim, a witness, or someone with vital information please give that number a call.

Read more at:  http://theneedleblog.wordpress.com/2013/10/21/operation-fairbankfernbridge-telephone-number/

Convicted Carers; The Criminals In Social Work.

MORE than 4,000 people with criminal records have applied to become social workers in the past two years.

CARING CRIMINALS: There is no legislation to prevent convicted jailbirds working in healthcare [GETTY]

Killers, prostitutes, drug dealers and even a paedophile were among those hoping to have responsibility for the most vulnerable members of society.

In 2012, 2,145 applications from would-be social workers revealed criminal histories amounting to a massive 6,170 offences which resulted in either court convictions or police warnings.

One applicant carried a conviction for wilfully mistreating a child, while another had been convicted of having sex with an underage girl.

Tough New Guidelines For Sex Cases

New guidelines for dealing with child sex abuse cases published today will mark “the most fundamental attitude shift” in the criminal justice system in a generation, the Director of Public Prosecutions has claimed.

Keir Starmer said the finalised advice would help prosecutors battle the myths and stereotypes about victims of sex abuse and ensure more convictions.

The guidelines cover how victims should be treated and how a case should be built and presented. They were drawn up after a number of high profile and controversial sex crime cases including the abuse gangs that operated in Rochdale and Oxford.

“For too long, child sexual abuse cases have been plagued by myths about how 'real' victims behave which simply do not withstand scrutiny,” said Mr Starner.

“The days of the model victim are over. From now on these cases will be investigated and prosecuted.

But  Alison Worsley, Deputy Director of Strategy at Barnardo's, said it was not just the attitude of prosecutors that needed to change.

“A wholesale shift in attitudes is required throughout the legal system when dealing with the child victims of sexual exploitation and these guidelines are a step towards achieving that,” she said.

“We must make sure we always listen to what children are telling us, often through their behaviour rather than just words, and consign stereotypes and myths to the history books.”

MP Ann Coffey, chairwoman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Runaway and Missing Children, said aggressive cross-examination by defence barristers also needed to be tackled.

She said: “These new rules for prosecutors are massively important and welcome but the main problem for child victims is aggressive cross examination by defence barristers who set out to humiliate and destroy them. 

“Barristers in child sex abuse cases must be stopped from manipulating child witnesses like puppets in the witness box. That is the single biggest thing that puts victims off coming forward and giving evidence. It is often not really cross examination of evidence at all, but is about smearing and breaking down the witness to get defendants off the hook.”

Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry said it is not clear how much of the guidance will actually get used in practice.

“These proposals are a welcome effort to correct the over-cautious stance the CPS took in the Jimmy Savile and street-grooming cases,” she said.

“However, the guidance contains a lot more ”shoulds“ than ”musts“ which makes it far from certain how much of this will actually get implemented.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/dpp-issues-tough-new-guidelines-for-child-sex-cases-aimed-at-ensuring-more-convictions-8884957.html

St Francis' Home, Shefford. Abuse Records Destroyed.

St Francis Home

MISSING police files relating to an abuse case against a former Catholic boys home have been destroyed.

This has now been admitted after one of the former boys called for an investigation.

Mr Damian Chittock won damages from the Catholic Church in 2003 after being abused at St Francis Boys Home in Shefford in the late 1960s.

After that settlement a police investigation was held and Father John Ryan, the priest then in charge of the home, was arrested and interviewed.

This was the second time Father Ryan had been arrested as he was interviewed in 1997, following earlier complaints of both physical and sexual abuse at the home.These records also went missing. The files are relevant to a ‘class action’ legal case being taken against the church by many other former boys at the home, as Father Ryan is now dead and the statements could have been used in court.

Chain Of Events, Failure To Protect

This is a breakdown of the  events faced by one family as their lives were destroyed by the Zandvoort Network.

(Citizens Ministry for Child Protection)

Contact: Drs. F. Laméris, Zuidlaren: 050-4096142 – e-mail: frideslameris@gmail.com

1. 2009. Mr. Ben van den Brink discovers that his two daughters Demi and Nirvana have been, and still are being abused and mistreated by his father-in-law and friends of his. During this period his wife Leonie Minkema tells him that the same abuse was done to her by her father, other family members and friends. Ben is furious and runs to his father-in-law, who has already called the police. Arriving at the doorstep he is surrounded by 11 police cars. Here is the first sign of police helping the members of a paedophile-network.

2. September 15, 2009. Due to threatening his father-in-law, Ben is arrested while making an official complaint at the police station in Alkmaar, and he is imprisoned for 6 months. Neither investigation, nor any action takes place against Mr. Ype Minkema, his father-in-law, a man of influence in the local community of Schoorl. The police refuse the request of Ben to file a criminal complaint against Mr. Ype Minkema because of his abusive behaviour.
   

Adam Rickwood & The Medomsley Heroes

Bill Maloney's film:  Adam Rickwood & The Medomsley Heroes



http://www.pienmashfilms.com/

Southwark And Bryn Alyn

Social Work Today, 1st July 1985 (ocr)

Hollies children: were they put at risk?

A private home used by Southwark council to place children moved from the Hollies during the residential dispute is under investigation following allegations of assault by a member of staff on a child at the home.

The privately-run independent home, Bryn Alyn at Wrexham, North Wales, took in some children after social services managers cleared the Hollies during the residential dispute in 1983.

Gwen James from Voice for the Child in Care said this move was "diabolical."

She was concerned that the children had not been given a chance to say whether they wanted to go to a home so far from London. Also the sudden move to a home for disturbed young people, could have meant that children who were not severely disturbed were being placed inappropriately.

Southwark Council is reviewing its policy of placing children at the home as part of a full scale review of residential provision. According to Dennis Simpson, director of social services, both he and councillors were surprised to find Southwark had spent £369,000 on placements at the home during 1984-85.

Children have been placed there partly because of industrial action during the residential dispute but also because some homes in the borough are being refurbished.

Mr Simpson, who took up the director's post in April, has ordered a full review of children at Bryn Alyn which will be presented to the next meeting of the social services committee.

"I suspect in the first instance they would have been surprised at the move. But the kind of information coming back is that it has been a suitable placement".

The latest .allegation, that one boy had been assaulted by a member of staff is being thoroughly investigated. "We are obviously taking it very seriously," said Mr Simpson. The boy is no longer at the home.

Stephen Elliott, deputy director of Bryn Alyn, said: "In any situation where allegations and complaints are made by youngsters, each one is viewed very seriously. We are investigating the matter jointly with Southwark"

.

http://webbrain.com/brainpage/brain/0FE31538-2121-8495-33A5-86073BE95DE1/thought/1#-4894

Please Note: This is the same Stephen Elliot who Still runs "Prospects For Young People" in Wrexham

Also see:
http://brynalynvictims.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/bryn-alyn-community-some-missing-pieces.html
http://brynalynvictims.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/bryn-alyn-home-of-horror-runs-nursery.html

Operation Racecourse, Operation Oxenton,

From Feb. this year I found a story that was overlooked by most despite it relating to one well-known PIE member....

THREE former Suffolk schools are now at the centre of criminal investigations into historic child abuse allegations.

The accusations, which relate to alleged physical and sexual assaults, are said to have occurred between the late 1970s and run through to the 1990s.

A solicitor representing ex-pupils of one of the schools - Oakwood School in Stowmarket - has said the number of claimants has reached three figures.

Andrew Grove, who is based in Cambridge, said: “We now have 100 complainants on the civil claim relating to Oakwood School.”

Last week detectives said they were re-opening the 1992 inquiry into alleged abuse at Kesgrave Hall independent school.

The investigation, codenamed Operation Garford, comes after former students’ calls for it to be re-opened were backed by Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP Dr Dan Poulter.

Responding to the new inquiry, Dr Poulter said: “I am pleased that Suffolk Police are conducting a full and thorough investigation into the alleged child abuse at Kesgrave Hall school, following my intervention.

“A number of people have written to me raising concerns about abuse when they or their family members were pupils at the school, and I would again urge anyone who has been the victim of abuse to come forward and immediately contact Suffolk police.”

Four people were suspended in 1992 during the Kesgrave Hall inquiry. No charges were ever brought. The school closed in 1993.

However, a woodwork teacher Alan Stancliffe, was convicted and jailed in 1999 and again in 2007 for indecent assaults on three ex-pupils.

Two other police inquiries involving the former St George’s School in Great Finborough, near Stowmarket, and Oakwood School are also continuing.

Operation Racecourse (St George’s) has been running since the late 2000s. It has led to the independent school’s ex-headmaster Derek Slade being jailed for 21 years in 2010 for sexual and physical abuse against pupils between the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Alan Brigden (aka Morton), 67, who taught maths at St George’s, was jailed for five years last year for sexual abuse after being extradited back from Holland despite two suicide attempts.

A third man, music teacher Alan Williams, 59, who lived in Stowmarket, took his own life after being arrested on suspicion of abuse.

A 59-year-old man who taught at St George’s is currently on police bail after being arrested on suspicion of sexual abuse.

Operation Oxenton (Oakwood School) is a criminal inquiry involving 95 complainants from the civil case.

There have already been convictions linked to Oakwood School dating back to the late 1980s.

Teacher Keith Hatton was jailed for four years in 1987 for nine sex assaults, while a part-time assistant John Wills, 45, of Stowmarket – who was a teacher in other schools and a foster carer – was jailed for eight months in 1995 for sexually abusing a child.

A Stowmarket clergyman with connections to the school, took his own life in 2003 after being arrested on suspicion of sexual assault

Oakwood School shut in 2000.

http://www.eadt.co.uk/news/kesgrave_stowmarket_inquiries_into_historic_child_abuse_allegations_at_three_former_schools_1_1857903

Surrey Police, Operation Outreach.

What follows is from Inspector Durkin:

Our ref: Op Outreach

1/10/2013

Dear Former Duncroft pupils

I apologise that this letter has not appeared on this forum until now.

“Anna Raccoon” has kindly agreed to allow us to post this letter on her site.

I am posting this letter on the forum on behalf of Surrey Police and Barnardo’s as we are trying to trace all pupils who were at Duncroft School for Girls, Staines in the 1970’s.

Surrey Police and Barnardo’s are working together in order to find out what happened at Duncroft during the 1970’s and to offer support to any former pupil who might have been a victim or witness to abuse. Surrey Police are continuing to investigate this period when Jimmy Savile was visiting to establish as complete a picture as possible.

If you are a former pupil I would like to give you the opportunity to make contact with the Police or Barnardo’s and describe your experiences there. It is important to stress that it is not the intention of the police or Barnardo’s to cause you any distress by making contact. Please be assured that the welfare of victims is the primary concern of both Surrey Police and Barnardo’s. This is a search for the truth and you will be believed.

If you feel that you have some information that you wish to tell police please contact us on any of the below methods:-

By email:- operationoutreach@surrey.pnn.police.uk

We request that you provide your name at the time you attended Duncroft, together with any name you may be using now. Your date of birth and current contact details are also required. This will assist us in dealing with any information we receive.

Alternatively, you may wish to contact Barnardo’s.  Making Connections is the part of Barnardo’s which manages the archive of personal child care records, and provides a comprehensive access to records service to all adults who were formally in the care of, or adopted through the organisation. Barnardo’s takes all allegations of abuse very seriously and the Making Connections team will provide you with support following any disclosure of abuse.

Barnardo’s Making Connections team can be contacted on 0208 498 7536;makingconnections@barnardos.org.uk or by writing to Making Connections, Barnardo’s Head Office, Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex IG6 1QG.

Support is available for those who suffered abuse whilst a child and in care and we would encourage you to contact the below agencies if you feel this support would be beneficial to you.

NSPCC (National Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children):-

0808 800 5000

NAPAC (National Association for People Abused in Childhood):-

0800 085 3330 – from landline or Virgin, Orange or 3 Mobile

0808 801 0331 from O2, Vodafone and T Mobile

Yours sincerely

Matthew Durkin

Detective Inspector

Deputy Senior Investigating Officer, Surrey Police

http://www.annaraccoon.com/duncroftsavile/operation-outreach-an-appeal-by-surrey-police/

LibDem Council Officer Guilty of Child Porn Charges

LibDem Council Chief Guilty of Child Porn Charges

Derek Osbourne faces prison after pleading guilty to possessing and distributing more than 5,000 indecent images of children, including 50 in the most extreme category possible. Another LibDem guilty of sex crimes, who’d have thought it. Guido hears there is more to come out with this one. Any statement from party HQ will have to be worded very carefully…

http://order-order.com/2013/10/01/libdem-council-chief-guilty-of-child-porn-charges/

Parliament Discussion, Child Protection, Sept 2013

Found a lengthy Parliamentary discussion tucked away on Hansard

12 Sep 2013 : Column 1200

Backbench Business

Child Protection

12.53 pm

Tim Loughton (East Worthing and Shoreham) (Con): I beg to move,

That this House has considered child protection in the UK.

I am grateful to the Backbench Business Committee for giving Members the opportunity to debate this important subject. As a precautionary measure, I declare my related interests as in the register.

As I have said on many occasions, opportunities to debate and air issues of child protection or of children generally are frustratingly rare, as I found in opposition and as Minister with responsibility for these matters, so today’s debate is welcome. It is particularly important because child protection and child abuse, in its different forms, have probably never had a higher profile, and have never triggered such a response and awareness among the public at large, which is probably the one compensation of the whole sordid Jimmy Savile affair. That is why, a year on from Savile, I and other hon. Members requested a debate on child protection.

The extraordinary turn of events started to unravel almost a year ago when the media heralded a modest but game-changing ITV documentary—produced by Mark Williams-Thomas, to whom I pay tribute for what he has set in motion as a result—which first tentatively suggested that Jimmy Savile had abused teenage girls as young as 13. It seemed incredible that the semi-beatified, spangly shell-suited former Bevin boy, “Top of the Pops” doyen, children’s TV icon and multi-charity philanthropist had so successfully hidden his alter ego as a serious sexual predator, and a pretty prolific and grubby one at that. The rest, of course, is history. The initial Guardian headline about some 10 female victims having come forward was one of its more glaring underestimates. The number of victims was then upgraded to some 300, some of them possibly as young as nine years old, and the figure is now in excess of 600. The ramifications for the BBC, for the rest of the establishment and for the public profile of child abuse, however, have been huge. It is worth briefly reviewing what has come to light over the past year.

There has been Operation Yewtree, which concentrated on the Savile case—600 people have come forward as having been abused by Jimmy Savile over a 60-year period. There are records of people who said that they were turned away when they reported abuse suffered at his hands. Six former police officers admitted that they were aware of Savile’s behaviour, with extensive evidence of cover-ups and withholding of information leading to abuse continuing over such a long period, including against children, teenage fans and kids in hospitals and care homes. We have seen the recent conviction of Stuart Hall for assaults spanning some 18 years on at least 13 girls, and a panoply of assorted comedians, publicists, entertainers, soap stars and childhood icons at various stages of arrest, investigation or facing court. Senior heads have rolled at the BBC, and its inquiry is said to have cost the licence fee payer in excess of £10 million already.

12 Sep 2013 : Column 1201

Operation Pallial has investigated the original claims of historical abuse at children’s homes in north Wales going back to the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. There has been a review by Mrs Justice Macur of the terms of the Waterhouse inquiry into the abuse of children in care in Gwynedd and Clwyd council areas. Operation Fernbank was established to focus on claims of sexual abuse and the grooming of children involving parties for men at the former Elm guest house in south-west London in the ’70s and ’80s. Operation Fernbridge has been launched as a result of allegations arising from Operation Fernbank. The Independentrevealed on 9 June that seven officers are pursuing more than 300 lines of inquiry.