Children subjected to ‘extreme violence and sadism’ during decades of hidden abuse in detention centres, inquiry finds

Children faced repercussions for reporting abuse while perpetrators ‘acted with impunity’ in 1970s and 1980s, report says

Hundreds of victims have come forward to police from Kirklevington Detention Centre in Teesside (Google)

Children detained for minor misdemeanours were subjected to “extreme violence and sadism” over decades of hidden abuse, a report has revealed.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) found that some victims tried to kill themselves in youth detention centres, while the perpetrators “acted with impunity”.

A report released on Thursday said the abuse left survivors with a “life sentence” of mental health issues and struggles with substance abuse and unemployment.

IICSA’s Truth Project heard evidence from the 1950s to the modern day, but the majority of people who said they were sexually abused by staff members were detained in the 1970s and 1980s.

Numerous men who were jailed as children during the period previously told The Independent of beatings, humiliation and sexual assault, with one man comparing his experience to a “sadistic, brutal concentration camp”.

IICSA found that a “culture of punishment contributed to a brutal environment”, with survivors reporting being kicked, beaten, slapped, caned and having their testicles squeezed.

While other strands of the wider-ranging inquiry have focused on historic sexual grooming, the report said that in detention centres victims “could not escape the abuse”.

“Perpetrators acted with impunity, and little was done to actively protect children,” the report said.

“It was common for survivors to report abuse perpetrated by multiple perpetrators – correctional staff, welfare and support staff and other children in custody.”

The report said that some abuse took place in “plain sight”, while in others perpetrators used their power to isolate victims.

“Participants thought other adults and staff were likely to be aware of what was happening but did not do anything about it as it was ‘out of sight, out of mind’,” the report added.

Correctional staff, including senior officers and a governor, were reported to be among abusers as well as welfare and support staff who were meant to protect children.

IICSA was told that some abusers had been in the armed forces and were well-respected in local communities.

The report said that few victims reported the crimes at the time, and those that did “either experienced physically violent or threatening responses from the staff, or their disclosures were largely ignored”.

Of inquiry participants who reported abuse while they were being detained, none saw their cases referred to the police.

One man who told a social worker he had been attacked after running away from custody, he was threatened with being “sent further away to somewhere from where he would never be able to run home”.

Another participant went straight to the police on the day he was released, but when officers found out the allegation was about a detention officer “they threatened him with arrest and a return to custody”, the report said.

Another boy was sexually abused by his mother’s partner after telling him about the abuse during a home visit.

“As children, participants experienced emotional and psychological distress, and some attempted suicide,” the report said.

“Participants described the intense feelings of anger, hate and powerlessness they felt as children in custodial institutions and as young adults after release.

“This impacted their behaviour, and they spoke of violence and aggression towards others, becoming involved in criminal activity, drug and alcohol misuse, self-harm and self-neglect.”

The report was based on an analysis of 3,701 people who shared an experience with the Truth Project between 2016 and January this year, of which 47 were abused in a custodial institution.

Police investigations into historic abuse at several detention centres are underway.

Last year, three retired prison officers were jailed for inflicting years of “brutality and violence” on children held at Medomsley Detention Centre in County Durham.

A court heard how they beat, punched and stamped on young boys throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

More than 70 victims gave evidence at the three men’s trials, detailing regular assaults that left them with broken bones, fractures, black eyes and scars.

Hundreds of men have also contacted police about abuse at Kirklevington Detention Centre, in Teesside, between the 1960s and 1990s.

A Ministry of Justice spokesperson said: “We have every sympathy for the victims who suffered abuse while in custody.

“Over the intervening decades, custody for children and young people has been transformed and we have improved the safeguards that are in place. We will continue to do all we can to keep the children in our care safe.”