Falsely Accused Carers and Teachers
Balance, Fairness and the Burden of Proof: A Christmas Gift Worth Treasuring South Wales Against Wrongful Conviction (SWAWC), Falsely Accused Carers and Teachers (FACT), False Accusation Support Organisation (FASO) jointly call upon Welsh Assembly Members and relevant authorities to make themselves fully aware of the dangers which can attach to accusations of sexual abuse and the corresponding [...]
For further information about this conference contact Garden Court North Chambers 0161 236 1840 or by email not Jordan’s Solicitors. National Conference on “The Challenges of Historic Allegations of Past Sexual Abuse” Garden Court North chambers are pleased to announce the first national conference on “The Challenges of Historic Allegations of Past Sexual Abuse” in [...]
Impact of false accusations on care workers is great Being caught in the tangled web of false allegations is a nightmare that many struggle to recover from. Of all the bogey men that haunt teachers’ nightmares, none is more dreadful than that of the false, malicious allegation. F.A.C.T. (Falsely Accused Carers and Teachers) was initially formed [...]
The following Press release (here) has been issued by the States of Jersey Police The States of Jersey Police can now confirm that they have now had contact with around 60 victims and witnesses who have contacted them following the launch of the historical abuse inquiry at Island institutions last week. Around 33 calls have [...]
One of the UK’s leading experts on child abuse has raised doubts about the conviction of a social worker after an investigation into a residential school in Ayrshire. Ray Wyre, who works as a consultant to police investigations and public inquiries into child abuse, said staff at Kerelaw School found guilty of physical assaults were [...]
Did you notice that Peter Garsden was chosen as Lawyer of the Wekk in the Times Law Section (here) and that he stated that his worse day as a lawyer was …..being cross-examined by a sitting of the Home Affairs Select Committee into alleged false allegations in child abuse cases for two and a half hours [...]
The following article by Linda MacDonald appeared in the Guardian on 29th November Linda MacDonald reviews some controversial csare home cases1989Child abuse investigations in Staffordshire, in north Wales, and in Leicestershire were marked by a new form of police inquiry: the trawling operation. Used by as many as two-thirds of the country’s police forces to convict dozens [...]
The Home Affairs Select Committee have published their uncorrected transcript of their meeting with the Criminal Cases Review Commission which you can access here issues raised by FACT are dealt with from Paragraph 47 onwards
The September edition of FACTion can now be downloaded from hereIn this edition you will find news about:-Successful Appeals New Scotland Shows Old Scotland the Way – the Novia Scotia Experience Life as Abuse Falsely Accused North Wales Man Awarded £89,000 Coventry Teacher Unfairly Sacked Why Did These Two Men Have to Go to Prison? [...]
The Home Affairs Select Committee have announced that they require the chairman of the Criminal Cases Review Commission to give evidence before them on Tuesday 10th Oct 2006. The HASC is seeking short written submissions from interested parties, highlighting issues which should be raised at this meeting. Such evidence should not exceed 1,000 words and [...]
We are delighted to announce that John Siddal and Ian Brooke have been acquitted by the Court of Appeal of allegations that they sexually abused children in their care. The case was referred back to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission. A full report appears in the Yorkshire Post (here)The following press [...]
News has just come through that George Anderson and Margaret Hewitt have finally heard that they would not face any re-trial for historical allegations of abuse said to have occurred when they were carers at the Macedon Home in Northern Ireland. George originally faced 34 charges and Margaret 99 charges and were sentenced to a total of 29 years in [...]
Following intense lobbying by Clare Curtis Thomas and Earl Howe of the All Party Group on Abuse Investigations the Home Affairs Select Committee have indicated that they are prepared to review their findings in their report on past abuse in children’s homes. We do not know at this stage how this review will take place, however we expect the Committee to [...]
We are often asked where one can find reliable statistics about the number of false allegations made against carers or teachers? It is very difficult to get hold of reliable statistics regarding the numbers of allegations made against teachers and/or the number who were subject to disciplinary action or dismissal because relevant agencies do not [...]
This item first appeared on the F.A.C.T website on 17th March 2005Author: Richard Webster. Published by Orwell PressRichard Websters long awaited book the Secret of Bryn Estyn was pre-launched on the 10th Match at a packed meeting at Portcullis House. Earl (Freddie) Howe announced that the book would be launched shortly and praised Richard for his courage and [...]
Richard Webster’s investigation into the North Wales children’s home scandal raises crucial questions about how our society deals with allegations of child abuse.The Secret of Bryn Estyn: The Making of a Modern Witch Hunt , Richard Webster, Orwell Press.The Secret of Bryn Estyn, the former children’s home in North Wales that became the focus of [...]
In a move that will bring hoirror to all those who maintain their innocence and have been wrongly accused the Sentencing Commission chaired by Lord Woolfe have recommended that early guilty please might attract a discount. A report in todays Guardian states:”Defendants facing murder charges will be encouraged to plead guilty early to cut a [...]
SEVEN Welsh carers and teachers serving a total of more than 80 years in jail for child abuse believe they are closer to proving their innocence.Lawyers acting for the men believe they have taken a major step forward in persuading miscarriage of justice investigators there may be questions over a number of convictions.The move could [...]
The conclusion of John Leslie’s criminal prosecution comes at an apposite time: the sexual offences bill currently before parliament has been amended in the Lords to give people suspected of sex offences anonymity right up to conviction. The home affairs select committee proposed last month that sex suspects should have anonymity up to being charged. [...]
According to Mike Tonge, Deputy Chief Constable of Merseyside Police Deputy Chief Constable of Merseyside Police, the recent Home Affairs Select Committee report into “historical child abuse cases”, made some sensationalist claims of “a new genre of miscarriages of justice” from what it perceived to be “the over enthusiastic pursuit” of abuse allegations in children’s [...]
Following the Home Affairs Select Committee’s damming report on Police trawling, the Merseyside Police Deputy Chief Constable defends the record of his force, claiming, ‘if we look into the facts on which the Committee’s claims are made, an entirely different picture is painted’. Trawling, apparently, ‘is the only way to try and shed light on [...]
“The recent Home Affairs Select Committee report into “historical child abuse cases”, made some sensationalist claims of “a new genre of miscarriages of justice” from what it perceived to be “the over enthusiastic pursuit” of abuse allegations in children’s homes, many relating to incidents said to have occurred twenty or thirty years ago.If we look [...]
John Carvel, social affairs editor, reports on Select Committee’s findings. Guardian
Care workers involved in police probes into child abuse allegations should be given full anonymity unless convicted says M.P.s BBC
The Home Affairs Select Committee has called for a range of new safeguards to cover the investigation and trial of people accused of sexual abuse in children’s homes. In a report published today the Committee calls for audio or video recording of police interviews with alleged victims; anonymity for the accused; a tightening of the [...]