Victims who were "abused purely for entertainment” by officers at a detention centre feel “deflated” after decades of waiting for justice, solicitors say.
Oakwood Solicitors, which represents more than 500 people who suffered abuse as children at Kirklevington Detention Centre, argue victims are being “deprived of access to justice”.
The firm first started taking on Kirklevington clients in late 2024 - saying each of the at least 500 victims suffered physical abuse at the Yarm institution between the 1960s and 1990s.
Carol Cook, head of clinical negligence and abuse, and paralegal Jordan Van Sittert told The Northern Echo that victims are reluctant to go to police due to the horrors they endured from the people in power at the site.
It comes after The Northern Echo this week exposed Douglas Harrison as the “sadistic” former officer believed to have abused hundreds of children at the institution.
“The wardens would say you are in here for a reason”, Ms Sittert told the Echo.
“They have gone through their life thinking I am deserving of this abuse and that is why they struggle to report it.
“These children were in there and told to respect these officers - once they leave, they don’t have that respect for authorities anymore. A lot of the victims went on to reoffend.”
Matching many other victim accounts, Ms Cook said many told solicitors how they were “slapped in the face” upon arrival and that “anything they did would result in punishment”.
Ms Cook also confirmed that more than 400 of their clients had directly named Harrison - who died in 2019 after a long illness - as the man who allegedly abused them.
Harrison - who was to be charged with misconduct in a public office and numerous assaults relating to 18 victims before his death - has officially been named by at least 273 victims reporting abuse to Cleveland Police as of July 2019.
However, this number could be much higher.
‘What is taking so long?’
Ms Cook said that victims are now “at a stage where they don’t think anything is going to come of the abuse" as Cleveland Police’s Operation Magnolia marks 12 years with not one conviction.
“The ultimate question with our clients is what is taking so long?”, she explained.
“Last year, following on from [the publication of the] Medomsley Detention Centre [report], we did feel for our Kirklevington clients.
“But we were quietly hopeful that it would kick things into gear. But it did not.”
Ms Sittert added that victims “call in thinking that nothing is going to be done about it”.
She said: “They are so deflated that they feel like they will probably be dead by the time they get justice”.
Detective Chief Inspector Chatterton, senior investigating officer of the probe at Cleveland Police, said the force understands the length of the investigation is both “upsetting and frustrating” and remains “fully committed to listening to victims and survivors”.
But Ms Cook argued that the length of the investigation is continuing the trauma they suffered.
“We need the Crown Prosecution Service and the police to urgently get things into gear and bring these perpetrators to trial and get justice for the victims”, she said.
“It would be nice if the police came forward with an update for this month or quarter and be reactive rather than proactive.
“The lack of communication leads to a lack of understanding and that feeling of being let down. They are being deprived of that access to justice.”
Oakwood Solicitors works on a ‘no-win, no-fee’ basis for victims of Kirklevington, and promises to help them through claims from start to finish.
“We support them through reporting it to the police, some people do, some people don’t”, Ms Cook explained.
Read more:
Kirklevington Detention Centre victims deserve justice - and time is running out
Still no justice for 'forgotten' abuse victims who had childhood 'ripped away'
'Evil' prison officer who 'abused' hundreds of boys at 'torture camp' exposed by Echo
“If they want us to assist with making that step or going to the police station we will support them with that. We also have a WhatsApp channel specifically for Kirklevington.”
Kirklevington Detention Centre first opened in 1962 and housed boys between the ages of 14 and 17-years-old who had been sentenced to between three weeks and four months detention.
It became a young offender institution in 1988 before briefly closing in 1992 and reopening in October of that year as a specialist resettlement prison.
Cleveland Police say that 938 victims to date have come forward with claims of abuse from their time at Kirklevington, 120 of which were in the last 14 months.
21 suspects have been interviewed, but not one person has been brought to justice.
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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