This page will be updated
irregularly. It contains comments, which are not intended necessarily to
represent the views of ACAL, but rather a springboard for debate amongst
interested parties. Please feel free to contact
us if you have any
comments
15th April 1999 - 17th August 1999
22nd January
2000
Three national newspapers have
defied a request to censor an advertisement about abused children deemed
"too shocking" for publication. The Committee of Advertising Practice
issued notices to publications advising them not to run the Barnardo's advert
showing a baby who had injected itself with heroin. But the full page picture
was printed in Saturday's Independent, Guardian and Scotsman newspapers, while
several Sunday papers were expected to follow suit.
18th January
2000
Should smacking be illegal?
As this debate hits British households all over Britain, the BBC publishes
several viewpoints in their talking point section. "Hitting a child with a
cane, belt or any other implement is to be outlawed in England. However
smacking is to remain an acceptable form of punishment.
Do you think the proposals go far enough to protect children from abuse, or do you think parents should be left with some freedom to discipline their offspring? Tell us what you think?" Enter the site, express your views, and read the views of others
17th January
2000
Kilrie Children's Home Practise Direction
In the Kilrie Children's
Home case the Lord Chancellor published a Practise Direction on 20th
December 1999, which, amongst other things, directs all claimants to Manchester
District Registry and announces a cut off date of 28th April 2000.
One has to issue legal proceedings before the cut off date if one wants to join
the group.
Your Webmaster
has been on a much needed holiday to recharge his batteries - normal service
will now be resumed
12th January
2000
Care Children need extra protection
People looking after children in
care should be subject to stricter and more independent controls, says a
leading charity. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children
says it received 200 allegations of physical and sexual abuse from children in
England and Wales last year who were either living in local authority care or
with foster parents. The charity is recommending a five-point action plan to
complement the proposed Care Standards Bill, which starts its committee stage
in parliament on Monday, saying that children in care deserve "five star
protection".
31st December
1999
2000 - Millennium parties
You see the Web Site never goes to sleep. As all of you are preparing for the
Millennium parties I carry on working on your behalf. Seriously though there
are some of you who will feel very lonely on such an auspicious occasion. If
these pages help just one of you heal your wounds from the past then the whole
association has been worthwhile. Click on the link to the BBC site and see the
pictures. Also try the video clips or sound bites. From now on I will be
featuring almost exclusively the BBC site which is the best source of
interesting news for surfers
25th December
1999
Happy Christmas to you all,
particularly our victim surfers. I know I speak for more than one of us when I
say that our hearts go out to you at this very difficult time of the year. I
hope that 2000 will see the settlement of more than one of the many children's
home cases throughout the country. As it is Christmas day I thought I would
send you a page with pleasant and happy pictures appropriate to the time of
year. - Christmas time in Bethlehem
22nd December
1999
Abusive Child Supervisor is jailed - A former supervisor at two
children's homes in north Wales has been jailed for five years for indecently
assaulting boys in his care in the 1970s.
Leake, 58, sexually assaulted boys in his care while working as a supervisor at
Bersham Children's Home in Wrexham and later as principal at Ystrad Hall in
Llangollen.
Southampton Boss sent for Trial - The manager of Southampton
Football Club, Dave Jones, has been committed to the crown court for trial on
charges of sexually abusing boys at a Merseyside children's home. The
43-year-old former Everton defender faced three fresh charges of child sex
abuse when he made his second appearance before Liverpool city magistrates on
Monday
9th December
1999
Guards let boy,10, be smuggled into Prison for Paedophile
A 10-year-old boy was
smuggled into prison to be assaulted by one of Britain's most dangerous
paedophiles. Prison guards left the terrified youngster alone with serial sex
offender Stephen Carruthers for 30 minutes. The paedophile was allowed to see
the boy - known as Child X - in the visiting room even though he was serving a
seven-year sentence in Manchester's Strangeways Jail for offences involving
children.
Police swoop in computer porn suspects
Police officers from 20 forces
across the UK have taken part in a massive operation against child
pornographers using the Internet. Homes in England, Scotland and Wales where
people were suspected of viewing child pornography on the Internet were raided
at about 0700 GMT on Thursday. The raids were the culmination of a six-month
investigation carried out by Greater Manchester Police's Obscene Publications Unit.
6th December
1999
Abusers to get lifetime tagging by Paul Waugh in the Independent
Paedophiles and violent
criminals face being forced to wear electronic tags for life under tough
proposals to be unveiled by Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, this week. The
Conservatives have complained about the effectiveness of the tagging system and
claim that the early release of non-violent offenders has been an abuse of
public trust. But the Home Secretary will state this week that an extension of
the scheme is the best way of "managing the risk" once a sex offender
is released into the community.
27th November
1999
Canadian Supreme Court finds a non-profit making organisation vicariously liable for sexual abuse. In this ground breaking case on 6th October 1999 the managers of a children's home were found vicariously liable for the acts of a paedophile who had been convicted of indecent assault in the criminal courts. The organisation had made checks before employing him but had not found anything wrong with his background. He went on to abuse children in his care. The case is called Bazley v. Curry. In another similar case called Jacobi v. Griffiths the employers were not found vicariously liable Both cases are on the free site of the Canadian Supreme Court
26th November
1999
Mother given life for baby murders
Solicitor Sally Clark, who was
convicted for murdering her two baby boys, has been given two concurrent life
sentences.
Clark, who was sentenced at Chester Crown Court, was found guilty earlier this
month of murdering 11-week-old Christopher on 13 December 1996 and
eight-week-old Harry on 26 January 1998.
25th November
1999
Minister's Warning over Poor Social Services
Departments told to get
their houses in order or be taken over by other councils as figures show
unacceptable variation in standards . Poorly performing social services
authorities were yesterday given four months to "get their house in
order" or risk other authorities being ordered in to take over their role.
24th November
1999
Home Owner Convicted of Child Abuse
A businessman who made a
fortune from looking after children in care is convicted of 14 charges of
indecent assault against boys.
The charges against Richard Ernest Leake, 58, relate to a period in the 1970s.
Leake denied abusing five boys in the 1970s when he was a supervisor at the
former Bersham Hall at Wrexham, run by the old Denbighshire County Council.
23rd November
1999
I know it is nothing to do with child abuse but I am a rally driving fan, who
likes fast cars and water skiing. A little light relief does no one any harm.
After all it is not every year that the Brits beat the Finns on home territory
- apart from last year's Network Q Rally of Great Britain. Richard Burns does
it again in the English forests to make it two wins in two years. Unfortunately
he did it in a Subaru as opposed to a Bentley
21st November
1999
Another story about the
European decision in X v. Bedfordshire. Five children were subjected to
"torture or inhuman or degrading treatment" when a social services
department failed for more than four years to remove them from
"horrific" parental neglect, the European commission of human rights
has ruled
20th November
1999
UK Football Boss denies charges
Southampton Football Club manager
Dave Jones has denied 10 charges of child abuse dating back to the 1980s when
he was employed as a care worker in a children's home. The former Everton
defender and father-of-four pleaded not guilty to all counts of indecent
assault and child cruelty when he appeared before Liverpool City Magistrates
Court. An order was made by stipendiary magistrate Paul Firth preventing the
home where Jones was employed from being identified.
Children's charities are calling for a clarification
of the law after a father was convicted of assault for smacking his daughter.
This story is from the excellent BBC News Online site and publishes numerous
reactions to the argument by parents who have written in. It is an old article
but interesting none the less. It illustrates how we could all fall foul of the
law in peculiar circumstances.
13th November
1999
TP & KM v. United Kingdom
(Newham) & Z & others v. United Kingdom (Bedforshire) 10th September
1999
I have been looking for a
reference to the European Courts decision upon X v. Bedfordshire C.C.and
The Newham Borough Council Decisions for some time now. As they have
different titles in Europe it is not surprising. The European court of Human
Rights have provisionally found for the Claimants in both cases - viz.
there has been a breach of the Articles. This is a preliminary finding - the
case has now to be considered by the full Committee or court for a final
decision. The finding looks favourable and encouraging. The link is to a Press
release but one can look at the full decision by following the hyperlinks.
These decisions which raised so much controversy finally look like they will
receive European disapproval. The actual decisions are long and difficult to
understand but worth persevering with.
12th November
1999
Solicitor guilty of killing babies
A SOLICITOR with a history of alcoholism and
depression, who was formerly with Addleshaw Booth in Manchester, and whose
husband is still a partner there, was facing a life sentence yesterday after
being convicted of murdering her two infant sons within 14 months of each
other.
UK Children are Running Away
Many children who run away do so persistently.
More than 100,000 British children run away from home each year, according to a
report. A fifth of runaways are thrown out of their homes by parents or carers.
Read the report of one victim in BBC Online
UK Councils accused of failing children
A linked story in the above article
is extremely interesting - a report into child care by the Audit Commission and
the SSI is critical of the system of care even today. I will try and get hold
of a copy. The header reads " Local authorities in England and Wales
are failing to give children in care the stability they need, says a report by
the Audit Commission and the Social Services Inspectorate (SSI)."
5th November
1999
Abuse inquiry records have 'gone
missing' by Roger
Dobson, (a dedicated journalist who writes many articles on the subject of
child abuse and who was instrumental in publishing the scandal about North
Wales)
The findings of nine public inquiries into claims of serious child abuse have
gone missing, researchers have found. The astonishing revelation goes back to
inquiries carried out as long ago as 1973. Since then 70 reports have been published,
but researchers say they were unable to trace the findings of nine because no
records are kept.
1st November
1999
There is huge problem in
Southern Ireland, which largely involves the Catholic Church. An alarming story
has appeared in the Irish Independent about proposed changes to the law of
Limitation. It is contrary to indications given to date, and is of concern to
Irish child abuse claimants:-
New Statute of Limitations to
Prevent Abuse Payouts by Eugene Hogan
THE Government could save
millions of pounds in compensation pay-outs by barring hundreds of victims of
child sex abuse from bringing civil proceedings under the controversial new
Statute of Limitations Bill.
24th October 1999
A man who had one of the worst collections of child pornography ever seized in
Scotland has been jailed for four-and-a- half-years by the High Court in
Edinburgh. David Heron, 41, a former chief petty officer in the Royal Navy, was
caught after a friend of his young son revealed that he had seen the
collection.
24th October
1999
Woman sued for 'not halting child
abuser'
By Rajeev
Syal - Daily Telegraph
THE business partner of a
convicted paedophile is being sued for allegedly "turning a blind
eye" to child abuse.
Mabel Cotton is accused of knowing that Lauchlan Ashcroft abused children at a
nudist colony they ran together - and failed to intervene. If the case is
successful, it will allow thousands of victims to sue adults who have allowed
child abuse to occur after witnessing suspicious behaviour by paedophiles. Peter Garsden
of ACAL was asked to make a comment for this
article.
22nd October
1999
Lister and Others v Hesley Hall Ltd.
(This link will take you to
the front page of the Times - select "back issues", and go the Law
Report page of 13th October 1999 - it is not possible to create a
hyperlink directly to the archive page)
This held that where a
house-father in a children's home sexually abused boys in his care, the company
which ran the home and employed him was not vicariously liable for the abuser's
failure to report the risk or fact of harm caused by his own acts.
It was common ground
that the company was not vicariously liable for the sexual abuse itself as that
was independent conduct wholly outside the scope of his employment (T v North Yorkshire County Council The Times 10.09.98[see above for instructions upon how
to view the original report]) and it was unrealistic to extend the principle of
vicarious liability to the abuser's failure to report what was by its nature a
secret act .
It was unrealistic to
attempt to distinguish the actual act from the fact that the abuser had kept it
secret from his employers.
Unfortunately this case
is not favourable to Claimants but it is something which we need to bear in
mind
Thanks to Nicola Harney for this contribution. If any other
member wishes to contribute any new article they are more than welcome. This
case was an offshoot from the North West Child Abuse Cases. Peter Garsden can elaborate further if required. It does not defeat the
majority of the arguments which can be put forward in this type of case. The
decision may be appealed to the House of Lords. Counsel was Richard Maxwell and
Rosalind Coe QC of the Ropewalk in Nottingham, whom we use more or
less exclusively in the North West. The Ropewalk act for most of the Child Abuse Compensation cases around the country.
19th October
1999
Abuse victim seeks damages for sex
at 13
"A high court
case next month could result in people sexually abused as a child, including
former rent boys and underage prostitutes, being entitled to claim from the
criminal injuries compensation authority for the physical and mental trauma
suffered." Nick Hopkins writes in the Guardian
Life jail for victim of abuse
A man was jailed for life yesterday after admitting that he hurled a convicted
paedophile, who had abused him 20 years ago, over a 200ft cliff.
Green theme for Labour programme
The cabinet will agree next
week a wide-ranging legislative package that includes the right to roam,
lowering the age of consent for homosexuals, and stricter scrutiny of
children's homes following a series of abuse cases.
17th October
1999
'IT'S TIME TO FIGHT BACK
' He has devoted his career to saving children's lives - devising new ways
to fight cot death and abuse. So why are there five inquiries under way into
his conduct and parents bating for his blood? Now David Southall has broken his
silence to answer his critics. Yvonne Roberts reports in the Guardian
15th October
1999
"SEX REIGN" BY A HEAD
THE head of a boarding
school crept into dormitories and abused boys in their beds, a court heard. The
"cruel, violent regime" Dennis Eagles ran resembled a prison camp, it
was alleged. Eagles, 73, denied 26 sex charges and three of child cruelty at
Worcester Crown Court yesterday. His school, Wessington Court, Hereford, which
provided places for 30 maladjusted boys, closed in 1983. The case goes on.
10th October
1999
Child Abuse Enquiry Report Finished?
The report into abuse in children's homes in north Wales has been completed 17
months after the end of a £12m inquiry. The writer had heard that the report
was not coming out until next spring and therefore this story is a bit of a
surprise.
5th October 1999
PAEDOPHILE COOKE ADMITS STRING OF
ATTACKS
Britain's most notorious
paedophile Sidney Cooke has admitted a string of child sex attacks committed
more than 20 years ago. Cooke admitted five counts of indecent assault and five
counts of buggery committed between 1972 and 1978 at Manchester Crown Court.
His case was adjourned for psychiatric reports.
4th
October 1999
Inquiry into death of young
prostitute
A report into the death of a
13-year-old prostitute addicted to drugs has found she was the victim of
"significant shortcomings" in the way she was cared for by social
workers. Two have been suspended pending a disciplinary investigation into
their conduct.
Harrow council was heavily
criticised over its treatment of heroin-addict Aliyah Ismail, who died of a
drugs overdose while in the care of social services.
3rd October 1999
Childminder gets 25 years in jail
for baby's death
A BRITISH childminder was sentenced
to 25 years to life in jail yesterday for causing the death of a 13-month-old
baby in her care.
Manjit Basuta, 44, wept
inconsolably as Judge William Kennedy sentenced her in a San Diego courtroom
while relatives looked on. She was convicted in June of violently shaking Oliver Smith
and slamming his head on the floor after he refused to have his nappy changed.
The child died the day after the incident.
Marchers urge child sex abuse
clampdown Campaigners
against child sex abuse have marched through London as part of a national
campaign for tougher laws against paedophiles. 260 people took part. A petition
was presented to No 10 Downing Street.
30th September
1999
Football Manager on Child Abuse
charges -
Premiership football boss David Jones was yesterday charged with abusing
children at a care home (for any other details about the care home
investigation and other abusers arrested and convicted contact the writer).
The former social worker
who manages Southampton was released on bail accused of nine offences dating
back to the mid-1980s. Police said the charges relate to "sex offences and
the ill treatment of children".
Read the story in the
Express by clicking on the title above, or read the Times article, and see the story below
when he was arrested.
6th September
1999
Care Worker jailed for child abuse A care worker at a South Wales
children's home has been jailed for seven years for 15 sex attacks. Cardiff
Crown Court heard father-of-three Cyril Samuels was arrested as part of the
massive police investigation called Operation Goldfinch into abuse in
children's home.
Lord Irvine to change the Face of
the Judiciary
the Government is planning a big increase in the numbers of ethnic minority,
female and homosexual judges (presumably not to try child abuse cases? Ed.).
Lord Irvine, the Lord Chancellor, wants fewer white, middle-class, former
public schoolboys on the bench, and in future will target members of minority
groups and women for promotion - Read David Bamber's article in the Telegraph.
22nd September
1999
Sex with pupils could land teachers
in jail
Guardian September 18 1999
A maximum of 10 to 15
teachers each year are expected to face prosecution and a possible two years in
prison for becoming sexually involved with pupils in their care, under plans to
make such relationships a new criminal offence, it was confirmed yesterday
19th September
1999
Yesterday in the Times a
surgeon from Belfast was interviewed about the awful child beatings in Northern
Ireland. He describes the long lasting effects of being hit with a club full of
nails and his disgust at what society seems to be allowing. "Who cares for Ulster
children?".
Read it if you wish. There are other associated articles about the issue - "Child charities demand end to
beatings"
Spokesmen for the NSPCC, Barnardos, Save the Children, etc., all express their
disgust and demand action. The Times takes credit for revealing the story
initially.
17th September
1999
An old BBC article, but
interesting none the less - Better deal for the victims of Sex Attacks promised
by Jack Straw. I will believe it when I see it - Read the Article - Click here The down side is that no more money will be available - he
will just reduce other categories of injury.
9th September
1999
Do you realise that there
will not be another day like today for another 10 years - 9/9/99 - the next one
will be 1/11/2011? This sort of news makes a welcome change from child abuse
and lightens the atmosphere. Oh well - back to the subject of the site:-
Peering into the future
Guardian September 08 1999
Nineteen-year-old Claire
Owen, from Flintshire in north Wales, wishes she'd had someone her own age to
talk to when she was in care. "When you're a 12-year-old girl you can't
just sit down and tell a 40-year-old man your problems," she says. "
31st August 1999
"Net child porn users face
abuse checks" wrote David Brindle, Social Services Correspondent of the Guardian,
last Saturday. There is mention of the Cleveland recommendations 10 years after
they have been published.
"Anybody found to have
used the internet to view or circulate child pornography should be investigated
as to whether they are abusing children, according to guidelines proposed
yesterday."
25th August 1999
Indecency caution for judge
The Guardian: August 25th 1999
A judge has been cautioned
by police after he was caught committing an act of gross indecency with another
man in public toilets near a court where he presides. A story from Wrexham,
North Wales - near to the site of the Tribunal and the North Wales Child Abuse
scandal - the writer presumes there are no connections?
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