Medomsley Detention Centre officer was ‘prolific sex offender’

An officer at a notorious detention center for young offenders was “probably the most prolific sex offender in British history”, an investigation has concluded.

Neville Husband was jailed for molesting five teenagers in Medomsley, County Durham, in 2003, with a further 338 sexual offenses attributed to him in the inquest report.

From 1961 to 1987, hundreds of young men were physically and sexually assaulted by prison staff. The Prisons and Probation Ombudsman’s report lists a number of missed opportunities by the Home Office, police and prison managers to stop abuse.

Durham Police have apologized to the victims. The Ministry of Justice also apologized “on behalf of all governments past and present”.

Prisoners who complained were not believed and were effectively allowed to report mistreatment to those who attacked them, the report said.

He warned that what happened was a “cautionary tale” and that mistreatment of vulnerable people was “still a problem” in the youth custody area.

Medomsley housed young men aged 17-21 for periods of three or six months, usually for low-level offences.

It was intended to give prisoners a “short, sharp shock” but the investigation found that physical violence and summary punishment were common.

The sexual assaults often centered in the institution’s kitchen, where guard Husband was said to have raped young inmates. He was later convicted of sexual crimes and died in 2010.

Chief Constable Rachel Bacon said the report was “extremely difficult to read” and revealed “disgraceful failings by the police at that time”.

“On behalf of Durham Police Service, I would like to publicly offer my sincerest apologies to the victims and their families for these failures,” he said.

“Thousands of young men have been failed by the system and continue to live with the scars of this abuse. These victims were and remain our primary concern.”

In the report, ombudsman Adrian Usher said: “I have chosen to omit many of the most disgusting details of the abuse, but I believe it is necessary to include sufficient to make clear the extent of the horrors endured by some of these young men.”

The report said

• police dismissed allegations of abuse without recording and would threaten prisoners with being sent back to Medomsley if they persisted
• Leadership staff were either aware of the abuse and therefore complicit or lacked curiosity and were therefore incompetent
• Victims never made a public apology, and all institutions must “examine their organizational consciences”
• The deaths of two young prisoners within months of each other in 1981-2 “arguably could have been prevented”

Some of those imprisoned at Medomsley said the experience haunts them to this day.

Peter Toole from Newcastle was sent there in 1985.

“You didn’t even come for a minute and the harassment started,” he said. “I just thought ‘this is it, this is Medomsley, go ahead and take it on the chin’.”

Jimmy Coffey went to Medomsley in 1979 when he was 18.

“The first week I was there I was constantly seeing violence, cruelty and hatred,” he said. “Right now I still have issues with flashbacks.”

Mr Usher said her Husband had “most likely” been sexually harassing vulnerable young men “his entire professional life”.

He said there were allegations against him in Portland prison before he was sent to Medomsley, but they were “not properly investigated”.

“These things were not dealt with and if they had been dealt with the hundreds of victims he subjected to horrific sexual violence at Medomsley would never have happened,” Mr Usher said.

He added that there were further allegations against Husband when he went to work at HMP Deerbolt and HMP Frankland.

“He was very productive and the whole time he made sure he would never get caught,” Mr. Usher said.

“He was a well-built man who bullied not only the detainees but also the staff.”

Mr Usher said Husband’s ability to remain undetected for so long “required the silence of many people”, including staff “who were aware that there was a very serious problem in the kitchens”.

“There were jokes about this among staff and in some cases staff would warn detainees not to apply for jobs in the kitchen,” he said.

Mr Usher also said Medomsley’s regional management and board of visitors were “completely ineffective”, with evidence showing the visits were more “social” rather than “trying to dig behind the established regime and find out what is really going on”.

The investigation, ordered by the Department of Justice, stated that Medomsley had existed “actually beyond the law” for 26 years.

As well as Husband’s later convictions, shopkeeper Leslie Johnson was also jailed in 2005 for sexual assaults on inmates, while other guards were also jailed for physical assault and abuse in a public office.

In an open letter, Labor Under Secretary for Justice Jake Richards apologized on behalf of the government and said he would set up an expert panel to determine where changes needed to be made to protecting young people’s custody.

“I want to acknowledge that none of this would have come to light if it weren’t for those who bravely came forward to report abuse,” she said.

“Rest assured that ministers and government officials are taking this issue extremely seriously and we will put the voices of victims at the heart of our work going forward.

“I know these words cannot change what happened in the past, but I hope this shows the government’s determination to take the necessary measures.”

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