North Wales child abuse: 100 alleged offenders named
More than 200 people have come forward with allegations of historic abuse in North Wales care homes, police say – identifying nearly 100 alleged offenders.
In an update on the progress of Operation Pallial, the National Crime Agency-led investigation into the alleged abuse, officers said the number of people coming forward had increased by nearly 100.
Since Pallial began in November 2012, a total of 235 people have contact the Operation Pallial team, with 204 of them indicating a willingness to support the investigation.
At Pallial’s last update, in April, there had been 140 claims of abuse against a total of 84 individuals.
Ian Mulcahey, the senior investigating officer for Operation Pallial said: “Operation Pallial is currently pursuing a large number of active lines of enquiry, working closely with police forces across the country and agencies and charities that provide support to victims of crime.
“Those who have come forward to report abuse in North Wales now live across England, Wales and Scotland, and many are receiving on-going support and counselling as we work hard to bring offenders to justice.”
A total of 14 arrests have been made with one person, 71-year-old John Allen of Ipswich, charged. The other 13 have been bailed while enquiries continued.
Mr Allen has been charged with 32 sexual offences including 22 indecent assaults and one offence of gross indecency. The offences are alleged to have taken place between 1968 and 1989.
However, Operation Pallial has been given the names, or partial names, of around 100 alleged offenders, including 24 who are believed to have died.
All these names are subject to further investigation – even in cases where the alleged offender is believed to have died, so that victims can be updated.