Kirklevington Prison near Yarm, pictured in 1998 after it became a resettlement prison
And The Northern Echo understands that a file has been passed to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider whether any charges can be brought.
Kirklevington, once a youth detention centre, now a resettlement prison on the outskirts of Yarm, is the subject of an inquiry by Cleveland Police which has seen two men, aged 70 and 61, arrested earlier this year and released without charge.
The 70-year-old was arrested on suspicion of rape and the other man on suspicion of misconduct.
Police say the inquiry - Operation Magnolia - is ongoing and revealed it is now investigating allegations from 248 former prisoners.
There have been claims of physical and sexual abuse - including one man, who didn't wish to make an official complaint, who said guards pulled the gromits out of his ear with a hook on a needle.
"I remember my ears and head being in agony," he said.
"I was wondering why the media were mentioning Medomsley all the time when Kirklevington was far more feared."
He also claimed inmates were encouraged to hit each other in the gym, his brother had his eardrum perforated and that he developed long-term health problems including asthma and an irregular heartbeat while inside.
Durham Police are still taking part in the country's biggest investigation into historic sex abuse at the former Medomsley Detention Centre, near Consett. Officers have spoken to 30 former members of staff and 1,254 victims have come forward to tell how they were physically or sexually abused in the 60s, 70s and 80s.
Another former Kirklevington inmate claimed: "I was subjected to continuous physical abuse throughout my eight weeks and three days at this hell hole called Kirklevington Grange detention centre in 1979.
"It affected my life so much at 14 years of age that from that moment I have never trusted anyone in a position of authority and have held utter contempt for authority."
Kirklevington was a detention centre operated by the Home Office – now the Ministry of Justice – which housed boys aged 14-17 sentenced to between three weeks and four months' detention.
Another victim, David Ginelly, told BBC's Inside Out programme earlier this year: "All aspects of the daily routine was physical violence, serious assaults from 6am in morning until 7pm at night you were assaulted, you were kicked, you were punched.
“It just never stopped, not even at 7pm when you went to bed.”
Another complainant, Andrew Brabarek, said he was punched so hard he went blind for three days.
He told BBC Tees: "You accept punishment but not like that, being beaten by a grown man when you are a teenager is something else."
Kirklevington changed to an adult male resettlement prison in 1992.
Source
I was in Kirklevington Detention Centre in 1976 and the man in this story says
ReplyDelete"I was wondering why the media were mentioning Medomsley all the time when Kirklevington was far more feared."
He is right, Kirklevington did have that reputation! However, the abuse at Medomsley was mainly but not exclusively Sexual.
As well as known about within the centre in the very same way the abuses were well known by all about within Kirklevington!
All staff not only knew, but either took part in the abuse itself or the subsequent covering up of such abuses!
Young boys sent to these places to teach him the errors of their ways!
To find out that the very system that sent them to Kirklevington is more evil and corrupt than one could imagine or foresee as a young lad!
Where the officer who all hold a badge of office are actually beating you senseless and sexually abusing you on a daily basis was just inconceivable to me!
Kirklevington was nothing less than state induced Torture of young and vulnerable people!
Yes young kids can go off the rails it’s called growing up and making mistakes!
However to do what they did in these Torture camps far surpassed any minor transgressions these boys had ever done!
Officer’s names I know!
Mr Snape! (Complete psychopath!) I remember about four days into my sentence for being carried in a stolen car! Mr Snape trapped a lad in the boot room under the stairs (many will know these boot rooms!) Mr Snape was beating this young lad with a floor bumper! A wooden flat brush about 8” by 12” with a cast metal top to give the brush weight! As I said he was a psychopath!
Mr Oliver Gate House Officer! (Firm but fair) I was gatehouse orderly for the last 4 weeks and I can say he never done anything wrong to me, I can’t speak for others!
Mr Parks Senior Officer white shirt (Nasty big bloke) would creep up behind you while you were working, he would cup his hands either side of your head and slam you were deaf for a week! He and other officers would laugh! Twat he was!
Mr Tragonin (I’m not too sure of the spelling of his name.) My personal Officer Never did me any harm!
Mr Lynam! (Judo freak!) Short stocky with white blond hair! Bastard & a violent nut case! Kirklevington gym had just received a new trampoline, a very big one, we were tasked to put it up within the gymnasium. 6 of us picked the trampoline up, me the weakling had one end while the others had the other and of course I got pile driven to the ground! The instant the corner of the trampoline hit the floor I was attacked by Lynam punching and kicking me and screaming “Pick it up you little bastard.” Followed by more punches and kicks!
Mr Jacobs second gym officer! About "6'7" as skinny as a bean pole! But super fit and ran like the wind! Never done anything but shout at me!
Mr Butler day officer (works) big bloke big mouth, hard nut! But generally fair!
Various punches kicks & nothing to what I have heard myself from other who went through Kirklevington!
I have not made any complaint to the police about my treatment whilst at Kirklevington!
all those officers in my opinion are guilty even if they didn't personally abuse anyone there! simply by the fact that they did nothing to stop it happening by omission alone they stand guilty!
Kirklevington was nothing less than a legitimised Torture camp!
l Was a "resident"there in 1987 l remember the daily humiliation and violence by these so called public servants. Karma is a beautiful thing MR HARRISON you will pay for your ways.
ReplyDeleteHarrison is dead committed suicide
Delete