THIS STORY HAS BEEN FORMATTED FOR EASY PRINTING

Man held in Jersey abuse inquiry

Email|Print|Single Page| Text size +
April 29, 2008

A 68-year-old man has been arrested in Jersey in connection with the island's ongoing investigation into historical child abuse.

Jersey police said the man, who has not been named, is helping with their inquiries into a number of rapes and indecent assaults. One of Britain's biggest ever abuse investigations is under way on the island, centring on the former children's home, Haut de la Garenne, where police have found bone fragments and bloody items in underground "punishment rooms". More than 100 people have claimed they were abused since the 1960s at the home, which closed in 1986. Jersey police said that on Friday two anthropologists and two archaeologists would begin the detailed excavation of cellar rooms three and four, where bone fragments and teeth were found. The bones have been delivered to the UK to ascertain their origin, and the teeth will follow this week. Fragments of a child's skull were found in February, buried under a stairwell. Tests on the skull were unable to identify the child but revealed that the bone was placed at that location no earlier than the 1920s. Some of the victims claim they were kept in solitary confinement and attacked in secret underground chambers. In four underground rooms, police have found a number of items, including shackles and a bath, which they say corroborate claims from victims. So far only one man has been charged in connection with the abuse inquiry. Gordon Claude Wateridge is charged with three offences of indecent assault on girls under 16 between 1969 and 1979 when he was warder at the home. The 76-year-old is on conditional bail and will next appear before St Helier Magistrates' Court on May 12.

more stories like this

  • Email
  • Email
  • Print
  • Print
  • Single page
  • Single page
  • Reprints
  • Reprints
  • Share
  • Share
  • Comment
  • Comment
 
  • Share on DiggShare on Digg
  • Tag with Del.icio.us Save this article
  • powered by Del.icio.us
Your Name Your e-mail address (for return address purposes) E-mail address of recipients (separate multiple addresses with commas) Name and both e-mail fields are required.
Message (optional)
Disclaimer: Boston.com does not share this information or keep it permanently, as it is for the sole purpose of sending this one time e-mail.