Jersey victim says sex assaults on drugged youngsters were rife

Published on Tuesday 26 February 2008 21:25

A VICTIM of the Jersey care home of horror told yesterday how she was drugged, beaten and sexually assaulted by staff as officials turned a blind eye when she begged for help.

The mother of two – known as Pamela – was given heavy doses of Valium at Haut de la Garenne and sexually assaulted dozens of times between 1973 and 1975.

She described how children would cower in their beds while staff held drunken parties where they would stumble into the dormitories to select "weak" children to rape.

Workers at the home would offer cigarettes and alcohol to teenagers in return for sex acts – and rape was "rife" among both boys and girls, the woman claims.

Now aged 49, the victim described being locked naked in 10sq ft "punishment cells" for the smallest misdemeanour – often for days at a time.

Pamela, who still lives in Jersey, says officials ignored pleas for help when children reported abuse – and offered little explanation if a child disappeared.

Most chillingly, she recalls there having been "constant" building work in the cellar – where police are focusing their investigation.

Excavation work by forensic teams was suspended yesterday for a structural survey to be carried out.

Police have been investigating the bricked-up cellar since the discovery on Saturday of a child's skull.

Pamela said: "The things that happened there are indescribable – the most cruel, sadistic and evil acts you could think of.

"What makes it worse is that these acts were practised on very vulnerable and often troubled children, who had nowhere to go and nobody to turn to for help.

"I remember one of the men who abused me being a big man who smelled sweaty and was often drunk. He touched me and I tried to fight him off.

"I often woke up with a massive headache and bruises over my body after being drugged. I was abused and assaulted."