Lewis victims plan private prosecution

0 Comments | Sunday Herald, The, Oct 9, 2005 | by Liam McDougall

THREE girls who were subjected to a decade-long ordeal of horrific sexual, physical and mental abuse are in talks to launch a private prosecution against their alleged attackers.

Days after a report by social work inspectors revealed the full horror of the alleged abuse suffered by the girls, who are now in foster care, the Sunday Herald can reveal that Western Isles Council is to contact lawyers on their behalf to mount a legal case.

The report by the Social Work Inspection Agency (SWIA) found more than 220 incidents of abuse over a 10-year period - including allegations of satanic rituals - at the hands of at least four adults, including the girls' father. It described how the girls, who were living on the Isle of Lewis, were made to go without proper food, clothing or bedding, and how one girl routinely slept in a cupboard. It is claimed another was so hungry she ate cat food.

It concluded: "We believe all three children were sexually abused."

Nine people were charged with sex offences involving the girls, but the Crown Office decided there was not enough evidence for a criminal case.

However, a source told the Sunday Herald last night that the children would now take a civil case against those accused of the alleged abuse.

He said: "The council is in talks with the girls about taking a prosecution on their behalf because they are still officially 'looked after'. The Crown Office does not feel confident to take it before the courts, but now the council wants to explore all other avenues. It is exploring how a private prosecution can be brought."

Aspects now to be examined in more detail by the council include why the families came to Lewis.

According to the report, "family A" arrived from England in 1995.

Two years later "family B" came to the island.

It is understood that SWIA inspectors want the council to explore the possibility the families targeted Lewis as somewhere to abuse children with the minimum of risk.

The source added: "It is thought the families believed the smaller social work department would have genuine difficulties trying to keep track of what was going on."

The SWIA report, released on Friday, revealed how the children were repeatedly failed by social workers. It led to anger at the Crown Office for not prosecuting the case.

Education minister Peter Peacock called the report's findings "another horrifying chapter in the continuing exposure of child abuse in Scotland".

Last night, the Labour MSP for the Western Isles, Alasdair Morrison, said news of a private prosecution was a "welcome development".

The eight men and one woman charged continue to deny any involvement. The nine were arrested in dawn raids on Lewis, Leicestershire and Dorset in October 2003, in a police operation codenamed Operation Haven.

Last night, some of those alleged to have been involved in the abuse were defiant.

David Disney, who has since moved to England, said:

"There are several of the group that will be seeking legal advice. We're victims, and it's not right."

Another accused, Peter Nelson, said he would be consulting a solicitor about the SWIA report's claims. He said: "They've wrecked my life. The way they've done it [the report] hasn't laid this to rest. There's a big error here."