Haut de la Garenne – Sifting Through Lies

It has been over two years of following the story and close to two hundred articles that I have written about the scandal known as Haut de la Garenne in the Channel Island of Jersey (see Trials and Tribulations) and the ensuing fall-out.

For all the horror that occurred there – over 100 victims have come forward – what quickly unraveled was the government cover-up of the abuse at Haut de la Garenne and elsewhere in Jersey.

We have witnessed the tarnishing of the reputation of Lenny Harper and his superb group of investigators.  We watched in disbelief the illegal suspension of Graham Power as Police Chief.  We saw the unlawful detention and tossing of Stuart Syvret’s home.  All of these events came about because of LIES!

Back in March 2008, the public saw the first photos of the ‘secret’ cellars at Haut de la Garenne.  Many victims reported being abused in those cellars.  Imagine my surprise – actually nothing about this story surprises me anymore – at the latest entry at Voice for Children.

For crying out loud, only a few days ago the Home Affairs Minister was forced to address a LIE by Acting Chief Police Officer David Warcup!  Reproduced below is Deputy Hill’s email regarding the cellars.  I highly suggest a visit to Voice for Children for the full article and video of the cellars.  Pay attention to the comments section – Lenny Harper made several damning comments!

Bath in Haut de la Garenne cellar

E-mail from Deputy Hill to all States Members and Media.

Dear Colleagues,

You will recall that on Tuesday (20th April 2010) I asked the Home Affairs Minister (Senator Ian Le Marquand) what the depth was of the deepest void/cellar at Haut de la Garenne and how many allegations of abuse in that area had been received. The reason for the question was because it had been claimed by the Acting Chief Police Officer that there were no cellars but only voids. This could imply that no abuse could have taken place under the floor boards and those claiming to have been abused were misguided. Also the States Police should not have wasted any time investigating the allegations.

It seems almost unbelievable that the police and forensic experts would have spent thousands of pounds and countless man hours investigating large areas under Haut de la Garenne unless there was sufficient evidence in the first place, yet all that time and expense can be dismissed by an officer whose claim has never been questioned. According to the Home Affairs Minister it now appears that some of the voids could be almost 5 feet deep and 30 former residents have made allegations of abuse in the voids.

As mentioned in the States on Tuesday I visited HDLG last week and measured and photographed the underfloor areas. It is correct to state there are some areas which are around 3 feet deep, however as one moves further down the building the areas do get much deeper and as the Home Affairs Minister stated on Tuesday some are at least 1.4 metres deep. As one can see from this link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq6X8QAtkog

that one (void?) is around 7 feet deep.

If some of the areas under HDLG are as deep as 7 feet and 30 victims have alleged that they were abused down there, it would be interesting to know how the claim that there are no cellars but only voids under HDLG was so readily accepted by the former Chief Minister and Home Affairs Minister who apparently visited the under floor areas and also witnessed investigatory work being under taken. They of course along with the Acting Police Chief all played a part in the suspension of Graham Power.

One should also note that over £3.7 million pounds has spent on the historic abuse investigation since the retirement of Mr Harper, plus near on a million pounds to cover the suspension of Mr Power yet no one at the Chief Minister’s Department or at Home Affairs seems to be concerned.