Two men charged with historic sex offences at Welsh children's centre
Two men have been charged with historic child sexual exploitation at a former children's centre in Wales.
Gwent Police said the two men have been charged with 45 alleged offences between them, relating to 16 victims.
The alleged sexual and physical offences took place predominantly at the Coed Glas Assessment Centre, Abergavenny, between the 1970s and 1990s.
Angus Riddell, 69, of Cwmbach Rhondda Cynon Taf, has been charged with 38 offences, including three counts of indecent assault on a girl under the age of 16 and one count of attempted indecent assault on a girl under the age of 16.
He is also charged with 14 counts of indecent assault on a boy under the age of 14 and 20 counts of assault, ill-treatment, neglect, abandoning a child, or causing a young person unnecessary suffering or injury.
Robin Griffiths, 65, from Ebbw Vale in Blaenau Gwent, has been charged with seven counts of indecent assault on a boy under the age of 14.
Both men were arrested on Friday June 20 and have been now been bailed to appear before Newport Magistrates' Court on July 3.
The arrests come as part of Operation Spinney, which has been investigating reports made by men and women of sexual and physical abuse committed against them as children, predominantly at the former assessment centre.
The centre was the responsibility of the former Gwent County Council and has been closed since 1995.
Detective chief superintendent Andrew Tuck of Gwent Police said: 'A team of detectives has been working closely with the Crown Prosecution Service and local authorities as part of a long-running investigation into allegations of non-recent sexual offences relating to the former children's home in Abergavenny.
'This has resulted in us being able to charge two men for a number of sexual offences against children.
'We are committed to securing justice for the victims in this investigation and continue to support them alongside specialist agencies.
'We would ask for people to respect the judicial process and avoid online speculation on this case. This is to ensure the integrity of the investigation and court proceedings.
'We take all reports of child exploitation seriously and would urge anyone who has suffered abuse or has concerns about someone who may be suffering to come forward and speak to the police.
'We will listen to you and investigate all offences and also ensure you have access to any help or support you need.'
Hannah von Dadelszen, chief Crown prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'The Crown Prosecution Service has received a full file of evidence from the Gwent Police and has authorised the investigation team to charge two defendants with multiple counts of child sexual offences.
'This charging decision was made by the Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit, which has a team of specialist prosecutors to lead on these complex and sensitive cases.
'The Crown Prosecution Service reminds all concerned that criminal proceedings against these defendants are now active and that they have a right to a fair trial.
'It is extremely important that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
38 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Ban on Palestine Action would have ‘chilling effect' on other protest groups
The crackdown on protest in England and Wales has been ringing alarm bells for years, but the decision to ban Palestine Action under anti-terrorism laws raises the stakes dramatically. As the group itself has said, it is the first time the government has attempted to proscribe a direct action protest organisation under the Terrorism Act, placing it alongside the likes of Islamic State, al-Qaida and National Action. The home secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the proposed ban was evidence-based and had been assessed by a wide range of experts. 'In several attacks, Palestine Action has committed acts of serious damage to property with the aim of progressing its political cause and influencing the government,' she said. Proscribing the group, which uses direct action mainly to target Israeli weapons factories in the UK, would make it illegal not only to be a member of Palestine Action but to show support for it. Given that neither its methods nor its targets are unprecedented, a ban is likely to make every group which has an aim of 'progressing its political cause and influencing the government' through protest think twice. Greenpeace UK's co-executive director, Areeba Hamid, said a ban would 'mark a dark turn for our democracy and a new low for a government already intent on stamping out the right to protest. The police already have laws to prosecute any individuals found guilty of a crime.' Laws passed in recent years have already increased police powers to restrict and shut down protests. At the same time, protesters have often been gagged from telling juries what motivated their actions and received record prison sentences. The final straw for ministers appears to have been the embarrassing security breach at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire on Friday, in which two Palestine Action activists broke in and sprayed two military planes with red paint. But protesters have caused criminal damage to military facilities in the past and even been acquitted for it, while Cooper herself admitted it might not amount to terrorism. Before becoming prime minister, Keir Starmer successfully defended protesters who broke into an RAF base in 2003 to stop US bombers heading to Iraq. He argued that it was lawful because their intention was to prevent war crimes. Palestine Action said that pro-Israel groups had lobbied for the ban and there is evidence to support that contention. Internal government documents released under freedom of information laws have revealed meetings, apparently to discuss Palestine Action, between the government and Israeli embassy officials, although they were heavily redacted. Ministers have also met representatives from the Israeli arms firm Elbit Systems. The organisation We Believe in Israel, which Labour MP Luke Akehurst used to be director of, began a campaign this month to ban Palestine Action. In an accompanying report, it stated: 'In July 2022, the group was investigated under counter-terrorism protocols following intelligence suggesting contact between some of its members and individuals linked to Hamas-aligned networks abroad (see: Metropolitan Police briefing, classified). 'While the investigation yielded no direct terror charges, it underscored the degree of concern shared by law enforcement agencies over Palestine Action's increasingly radicalised behaviour.' It is not clear how or why We Believe in Israel was granted access to classified documents. There was no reference to links to Hamas in Cooper's statement but she did refer to Palestine Action as threatening infrastructure which supports Ukraine and Nato, echoing language in We Believe in Israel's report. With the government already unpopular among many over its stance on Gaza, the planned ban risks looking like it is based on Palestine Action's cause rather than its methods. Akiko Hart, Liberty director, said: 'Proscribing a direct-action protest group in this way potentially sets a new precedent for what we do and do not treat as terrorism. 'We're worried about the chilling effect this would have on the thousands of people who campaign for Palestine, and their ability to express themselves and take part in protests. Proscribing Palestine Action would mean that showing support for them in any way – for example, sharing a post on social media or wearing a logo – could carry a prison sentence.'
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Ethan Ives-Griffiths' grandad says mum hit son before he died
The grandfather of a toddler who died from a head injury told police his daughter hit her son on the head for "misbehaving" the day before he collapsed, a court has Ives-Griffiths, two, from Garden City in Flintshire, died on August 16 2021 after suffering a "catastrophic" head grandfather Michael Ives, 47, and grandmother Kerry Ives, 46, both deny murder, causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a mother Shannon Ives, 28, from Mold, denies causing or allowing the death of a child and cruelty to a court heard Michael Ives describe seeing Shannon Ives hit Ethan for throwing himself to his knees because he wanted more juice. Speaking about the events leading up to the two-year-old's first collapse on 13 August, the jury at Mold Crown Court heard Michael Ives told police "[Ethan's] mum smacked him for misbehaving". In a transcript from part of a police interview, the defendant, from Garden City in Flintshire, said his daughter grabbed Ethan's arms and told him to "stand up" before hitting him. "The way she hit him was up the back of the head," he said he told her not to hit Ethan but she did not reply, adding Shannon Ives "had no patience" and was "quick-tempered". Michael Ives said Shannon Ives then left the room and he heard a bang "like [Ethan's] head had hit the floor" before seeing the boy had fallen to the rug and was "unresponsive" for about five said Ethan came round after attempts to revive him and he "seemed to pick up".Asked by police what had caused Ethan to fall, the court heard Michael Ives replied: "It could've been the smack on the head, I don't know."He said he and his wife Kerry Ives later took Ethan shopping "to keep an eye on him" and asked Shannon Ives whether they should take him to get "checked out", but she said told police he did not want to leave Ethan with Shannon Ives following the incident "because of the way she was, the way she used to smack him up the head or on the back side of his legs".He said he was not with her "24/7" but he would see her smack Ethan "if he was really playing up". Michael Ives said his daughter told Ethan she hated him and he needed "to go off and live in care".Ethan, he said, would bite his lip and draw blood. When he did this he said Shannon Ives "would slap him up his mouth" with the back of her before Ethan's final collapse, Michael Ives said his daughter took Ethan off to feed him and when they returned he had a red mark near his said he asked Shannon Ives how he got it and she replied he must have he said: "It wasn't adding up. I think she was lying, that she'd given him a crack or something".The court heard when police asked him who caused Ethan's fatal head injury, Michael Ives said: "I don't know, not me".Asked how he would describe himself as a grandparent, he said: "I'm a good grandad".The jury heard he no longer has any relationship with his daughter as "she'd cut us all off" which Michael Ives said was because "she can't cope with the grief" of losing Ives was also interviewed by police and was asked how Ethan got his fatal head injury. The court heard she responded: "I have no idea".She said Shannon Ives would sometimes smack Ethan "up the head" even though "we told her not to".When Michael Ives told Ethan's mother to make him stand in the corner instead, Kerry Ives said "she told us to mind our own business".She said Shannon Ives was always using her phone, adding "even when Ethan was on the floor she was [upstairs] texting".When Ethan collapsed on 14 August, Kerry Ives said she shouted for Shannon Ives to come downstairs to help and she said she would be down "in two minutes" as she was on her Ives said she swore at her daughter and said "never mind two minutes, he's your baby".The trial continues.
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Casey review: wider concerns on child welfare must be addressed
Louise Casey's report (Grooming gangs in UK thrived in 'culture of ignorance', Casey report says, 16 June) makes good sense. Nevertheless, her recommendations, and those who must act on them, won't prevent the exploitation and abuse of children in care. In her appearance at the home affairs select committee last week, she highlighted how the system had failed the children 'missing' from care. As so often happens, the system ends up protecting the organisation rather than the child. If children's home workers follow procedure and conduct a return-home interview with the child, they are deemed to have done their job. But in some good children's homes, where workers are supported to be personally and collectively concerned for every child, they will worry; they will stay up all night; sometimes they go out searching for the child, putting themselves at considerable risk. They will do what a good parent would do. Filling forms and following procedures does not protect children. However, such good children's homes are rare. Local and national governments are wary of the risks involved in such direct personal concern and commitment. The owners and directors of children's homes will avoid challenging officialdom, thereby making it more difficult to encourage grownups to make the commitment that every child needs. By attempting to avoid risk and accountability, yet be seen to take action, politicians may make it less likely that children find relationships of direct personal concern in care homes. John BurtonAuthor, Leading Good Care: The Task, Heart and Art of Managing Social Care The limitations of the data regarding perpetrators of child sexual exploitation are, understandably, highlighted once again (Public must 'keep calm' over ethnicity of grooming gang offenders, says Louise Casey, 17 June). But these limitations reflect wider concerns about the robustness of the data collected about child protection issues. As researchers have pointed out for years now, we simply do not collect data that can help us understand the contexts in which children experience harms and, crucially, monitor whether and how these harms are being affected by government policies. For example, while our research highlights the links between poverty and a child's chances of being subject to a child protection intervention, we were not able to establish this link using the data currently being gathered by the Department for Education. Well-informed discussions about the prevalence of child harms are long overdue and should not be restricted to gathering data on any one aspect of identity. Brigid Featherstone Professor emerita, University of Huddersfield I understand Zara Mohammed's concern, but this is not about scapegoating the Pakistani community, it is about seeking to understand why groups of men saw fit to abuse young girls (Dear Yvette Cooper, let the Casey review lead to justice – not the scapegoating of British Pakistani culture, 17 June). It is essential to be honest in investigating whether cultural perceptions in some ethnic male groups mean that they are more predisposed to see young girls as acceptable targets. It is no different from asking if particular groups of young males have misogynistic views and investigating why that has come about. Only by being honest about the causes of abuse can we prevent it in the TweedLuton, Bedfordshire Have an opinion on anything you've read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
