For the last six decades, victims of horrific physical and sexual abuse at Kirklevington Detention Centre are not just scarred by the pain inflicted upon them - they feel forgotten.
Victims say they were beaten, smacked, choked, and force fed by the prison officers who should have been taking care of them.
Kirklevington was a place where children would “cry themselves to sleep”, fearful of what prison officers might come in and do to them when night falls, and even “wet themselves in fear”.
These grave injustices are a story the North East is all too familiar with, with decades of abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre, near Consett, being allowed to continue unchallenged.
But, unlike Medomsley, no former prison officers have been brought before a judge to answer to their crimes as a result of Cleveland Police’s Operation Magnolia.
Victims have been forced to move on with their lives, battling both emotional and physical turmoil while their perpetrators live out their days scot-free.
Operation Magnolia marked 12 years since it launched last month - and despite identifying 938 victims and interviewing at least 21 suspects, nobody has been brought to justice.
The Northern Echo has today named Douglas Harrison as the “sadistic” former prison officer believed to have abused hundreds of children at the site for the first time.
The “barbaric” 74-year-old was set to be charged by police with misconduct in a public office and numerous assaults, in relation to 18 victims, just days before his death in 2019.
Nobody expected that, when police launched the investigation in 2014, victims would still be standing here now being no further forward.
These victims aren’t merely statistics.
They deserve more than that.
They deserve answers.
They deserve justice.
With most of the victims likely now in their 60s, 70s, or even 80, they face the unimaginable prospect of not being served justice before they die.
Several former prison officers have already died before they could be charged, and the longer this investigation continues, the more likely it is that more suspects will die.
This just isn’t good enough; police are letting victims down.
It is completely understandable that an investigation into historic abuse will take its time.
But it's time to put the victims in the forefront; the people with scars that still haven’t healed.
The people who, by contacting police, have opened old wounds in the hope of finding closure for the abuse that has followed them like a shadow their entire lives.
It is unacceptable that the police force investigating these barbaric acts have made victims feel forgotten, with no hope of ever getting justice.
Read more on Kirklevington
- 'Evil' prison officer who 'attacked' boys at detention centre exposed
- 'Forgotten' victims of Yarm detention centre still waiting for justice
And if nothing is done soon, there will never be justice.
Cleveland Police must now urgently prioritise its investigation into Kirklevington, increasing spending and resources to find answers for the victims, before those who have carried out this horrific abuse pass away and escape justice forever.
It is essential that the force is proactive - not reactive - and increases transparency so victims feel consistently up to date and supported.
Victims also deserve a settlement scheme, where they can claim compensation for their abuse and receive a formal apology for the decades of trauma they have endured.
It means victims can avoid complex legal proceedings and the emotional anguish that comes with it, similar to those who survived historic abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre.
Kirklevington victims deserve the same.
Time is running out - but it’s not too late yet.
Anyone who suffered abuse at Kirklevington Detention Centre can report this to Cleveland Police. Victims can also contact Oakwood Solicitors for advice on legal claims.
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