Significant and fresh leads over sex abuse 
by ‘carers’

Detectives from Operation 
Pallial, which launched last November, have received 140 allegations relating to 18 care homes between 1963 and 1992, including fresh claims by 76 new complainants.

The alleged victims were aged between seven and 19.

Yesterday’s report said a total of 84 people – 75 male and nine female – were named by complainants.

Of these, 16 were named by more than one alleged victim and 10 may now be dead.

The large number of alleged victims and care homes, and the duration of the period involved, are much greater than previously thought.

Detective Superintendent Ian Mulcahey, the senior investigating officer, said: “These are serious allegations that will be thoroughly investigated.

“Many have provided graphic accounts of abuse, in some cases of very serious criminality.”

He added: “We are prioritising our work focusing on those individuals who pose the greatest risk to the public.

“I want to reassure the community we are taking their allegations seriously.”

The publication of yesterday’s report on phase one of the inquiry comes less than a week after a man was arrested in Ipswich, Suffolk, accused of “a number of serious sexual offences against a number of individuals”, the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) said.

He was arrested last Tuesday and taken to a police station in North Wales where he was interviewed over recent allegations of historic abuse and then bailed to the end of July, pending further inquiries. Soca refused to give his age.

He is the first person to be 
detained so far as part of the inquiry.

North Wales Chief Constable Mark Polin, who asked the National Crime Agency (NCA) to run Operation Pallial, warned offenders: “If you believe that the passage of time will reduce the resolve of Operation Pallial or any police force to identify people still alive who have caused harm to others and bring them to justice, you are sorely mistaken.

“People who commit serious and sexual offences should live with the knowledge that we will always examine new information and evidence and seek to bring them to justice for their crimes.

“Offenders should quite rightly have to look over their shoulders for the rest of their lives.”

The NCA was selected at the request of North Wales Police to ensure the inquiry’s independence.

It was set up to re-examine claims of sex crimes and look again at the original police investigations into abuse at care homes in North Wales.

Mr Polin said: “I took the decision to ask the NCA to investigate these allegations, conscious that some victims of historic abuse may not have the necessary level of confidence in North Wales Police to report matters directly to us.

“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 be at the core of phase two and to move matters forward as quickly as possible.”

He added it was “never too late” to report abuse.

The investigation is being carried out by 31 officers drawn from Soca, the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (Ceop) and police forces from across England.