29-04-2013, 12:08 PM
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Quote:Wales child abuse: Operation Pallial inquiry finds evidence of 140 claims
An independent investigation examining claims of historical child abuse at children's homes in north Wales has found "significant evidence of systemic and serious sexual and physical abuse".
Investigators in Operation Pallial have found evidence of 140 allegations of historical abuse between 1963 and 1992.
They also say 76 new complainants have come forward.
The claims centre on 18 homes involving offences against boys and girls aged between seven and 19.
A news conference is being held at North Wales Police HQ in Colwyn Bay.
A total of 84 individuals have been named - 75 male and nine female. Of these, 16 have been named by more than one complainant.
It is believed that 10 of the 16 may be deceased.
'Absolute sense'
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This report reveals that phase one of the investigation has resulted in the collection of significant evidence of systemic and serious sexual and physical abuse of children whilst in care"
Operation Pallial
Report
A summary of the report said: "No evidence of systemic or institutional misconduct by North Wales Police officers or staff in connection with these matters have been identified."
Keith Bristow, director general of the National Crime Agency (NCA), has agreed to continue investigations at the request of Mark Polin, the North Wales chief constable.
"I took the decision to ask the director general of the National Crime Agency to investigate these allegations last November conscious that some victims of historic abuse may not have the necessary level of confidence in North Wales Police to report these matters directly to us," he said.
"Operation Pallial has now secured accounts from almost all victims who are willing to support an investigation and it makes absolute sense for the officers and staff involved to date to be the core of phase two and to move matters forward as quickly as professionally as possible."
'Prioritising activities'
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These are serious allegations that will be thoroughly investigated"
Det Supt Ian Mulcahey
Merseyside Police
The report said: "This report reveals that phase one of the investigation has resulted in the collection of significant evidence of systemic and serious sexual and physical abuse of children whilst in care."
Det Supt Ian Mulcahey of Merseyside Police is leading the day-to-day investigation.
He said: "These are serious allegations that will be thoroughly investigated.
"We are prioritising our activities to ensure that any level of ongoing risk to the public is minimised."
A Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) lawyer has been appointed to assist Operation Pallial.
The CPS lawyer has advised "the priority should be given to the most serious allegations and the a prioritisation process has been agreed with them."
Home Secretary Theresa May ordered this inquiry following a Newsnight report in November, that as well as leading to a Tory peer being falsely accused of paedophilia, alleged that child abuse in north Wales in the 1970s and 1980s was far more widespread than had previously been investigated.
The investigation involves police officers and staff, primarily from forces in north-west England, supported by members of the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP Centre).
Waterhouse inquiry
By December it had heard from 105 victims of abuse.
At the time, Det Supt Mulcahey said the investigation would "follow the evidence without fear or favour".
A separate review by Mrs Justice Macur is investigating the terms of the Waterhouse abuse inquiry, which began in 1996.
It examined the abuse of victims in former north Wales care homes such as Bryn Estyn in Wrexham dating back to the 1970s.
The new inquiry followed a victim's claims that Sir Ronald Waterhouse only uncovered a fraction of the abuse.
Those claims surfaced in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.
Last week, one man was arrested in Ipswich, Suffolk, as part of Operation Pallial and questioned on suspicion of serious sexual offences against a number of people. He has been bailed until July.
The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole ego-personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge.
Carl Jung - Aion (1951). CW 9, Part II: P.14