In investigating the sexual and physical abuse at OCVC and the horror of the pornographic videos, including child pornography and videos of children being physically assaulted, tortured and abused in Afghanistan, UK Column met with former students, read witness statements and studied their documents. We printed the names and photographs of individuals implicated in the abuse, including OCVC staff members Andrew Fellowes and John Geber. We know that this evidence and much more has been given to the appropriate authorities. Andrew Fellowes was quietly “fired” from OCVC and deliberately concealed the truth of his vile acts against students from parents, the schools that sent 14-year-old students to OCVC and the general public. Students were left at risk of abuse and his criminal associates remained in their jobs.
Why aren't there full and proper investigations open to the public into every reported case of abuse? Because no such investigations exist.
Jim Leavers – Head of Children's Services, Oxfordshire County Council
Jim Leavers, Director of Children's Services at Oxfordshire County Council, recently emailed me the following, referring to the UK Column in the context of a member of the public asking whether any of its reporting is accurate.
“From the investigations that have been carried out and the information provided to the county council following these investigations, I can state categorically that the majority of the allegations have not been substantiated. I can also state that where any of the allegations have been substantiated, steps have been taken to address this issue.”
Mr Leavers is not telling the truth. Either he is being misled by his own staff, OCVC and Thames Valley Police are not disclosing what is really going on, or he is deliberately misleading the public. The truth is that the allegations are not substantiated because they are not being investigated. Full and necessary steps to protect young people are not being taken.
In an earlier email, Mr Leavers said: “I would like to point out that none of the very serious allegations reported in the UK column were substantiated and the allegations about which action was taken did not relate to serious harm to children or young people. Therefore, in terms of the allegations themselves, I would like to reassure you that all of the allegations made in this article have been investigated and the employing body has taken appropriate action in relation to all concerns.”
This is yet another false statement by Mr. Levers. Serious allegations of harm have not been investigated and therefore not substantiated. The pattern is simple.
As an example, Mr Leavers has personally received an eyewitness account, originally sent to Oxfordshire County Council in April 2008, detailing the long-term physical and sexual abuse suffered by one victim who feared she would be raped.
Despite receiving this document again in early May 2012, Mr Leavers ignored two further follow-up letters, and Mr Leavers only responded some four months after a complaint was made to the Local Government Ombudsman in August 2012. Furthermore, Mr Leavers' response contained inaccurate information and false statements about dates and actions purportedly taken by Oxfordshire Council.
As with the Rotherham Safeguarding Children Board's failings, our investigation and documentary evidence shows that Leavers and the Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board do not have a clear and accurate account of the horrific abuse at OCVC because most of the original complaints were obscured, hidden or simply not reported by OCVC management.
Conservative MP Louise Chapman – Chair of the Safeguarding Children Committee
We still cannot understand why Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board recommended that OCVC employ an external HR “temporary” consultant, Ray Tregear, to investigate safeguarding issues when investigating safeguarding issues is the responsibility of the local safeguarding children board itself. Tregear is currently thought to be working on recruitment issues for a call centre company in Northern Ireland and was therefore not qualified to handle child safety investigations of this kind.
If the UK Column's reporting is not accurate then why has no legal action been taken against us? Why has no one from Oxfordshire County Council, the OCVC or Thames Valley Police contacted UK Column asking them to pass on any information we have with a view to carrying out a full investigation?
In February of this year, two former students, aged 16 and 17, accused OCVC staff of physical assault, who were allegedly already involved in the abuse of other students. TVP made no formal statement and five weeks later police informed the family that no further action would be taken due to a lack of evidence. The pattern of “no investigation, no evidence” continues. Neither student was able to return to OCVC for fear of being assaulted again. One has enrolled at another university where he now feels safe and appears to be studying well.
At the time of writing, mainstream media in South Yorkshire was reporting: “Rochdale Council and Greater Manchester Police received 127 alerts from NHS staff that children as young as 10 were at risk of abuse and 'missed opportunities' to stop an Asian gang who raped dozens of vulnerable girls over several years…Rochdale social services, police and the Crown Prosecution Service failed to shut down the sex ring, dismissing the victims as prostitutes and turning a blind eye for years, a damning report into the scandal has revealed.” Alongside the local authority and police, child protection commissioners were also found to have fallen woefully short.
Did Oxford University and Cherwell Valley College fail to identify paedophile behaviour, or was Oxfordshire County Council's safeguards inadequate? Or are paedophiles being protected?
OCVC director Sally Dicketts and all Oxfordshire County Council councillors have been informed of the findings of the investigation into abuse. Leading councillors have been given evidence. Jim Leavers, director of children's services, has been contacted and repeatedly re-informed about abuse by victims and their supporters. Oxfordshire Safeguarding Children Board has been fully informed about abuse in specific cases. Thames Valley Police, led by Chief Constable Sarah Thornton, has been informed about failings in its original investigation and re-informed about the widespread nature of abuse at OCVC.
Despite multiple witnesses, corroborating evidence and the seriousness of the allegations of abuse and sexual abuse, OCVC and Oxfordshire authorities have remained silent in the pursuit of a cover-up. Individuals and organisations who should be protecting young people are now on guard, waiting for the OCVC scandal to die away. It will never die, just like Hillsborough, which took 23 years for the truth to come out.
Sarah Thornton – Chief Superintendent of Thames Valley Police
Most seriously, Thames Valley Police (TVP) is clearly complicit in the cover-up. In May 2012, Superintendent Gilkes interviewed the vulnerable key witness in front of an independent witness. Shown the statement and discussing the abuse, Gilkes reportedly said, “It was the first time I'd ever heard a complaint.” In fact, TVP had known for over two years. When he was informed that OCVC staff had confirmed the abuse of students and tried to protect them, he admitted that it “seemed like a cover-up.” Superintendent Gilkes was also aware that OCVC staff who had tried to protect victims had been fired for false allegations that they had “misused their position of trust.” This is clearly an attempt to discredit the “whistle-blowers.” Gilkes pressed for a formal statement, but young victims remain wary of a police force they do not believe will protect them.
Recent media coverage of the Hillsborough incident has revealed the police's ability to lie and to falsify and fabricate evidence and witness testimony to cover up their own failings. In Hillsborough, the police were willing to lie in matters involving death and physical injury. It is therefore not surprising that TVP appears to have been willing to lie and cover up its own failings in the initial investigation of the more “minor” issues of extreme physical and sexual abuse at OCVC. It is also not surprising that untrained male officers would “visit” young victims who were already traumatized by their experiences and very afraid of authority.
The sensitive issue of Asian gangs committing paedophile abuse appears to be a hot topic in South Yorkshire.
In Oxford, Thames Valley Police have already busted a large paedophile ring in “Operation Bulfinch”, with most of the suspects being from non-white backgrounds. It is strange that a police force that has acted so aggressively to root out paedophiles would not be so keen to thoroughly investigate abusers operating through this prestigious university.
Are they hesitant because of the social status of OCVC and its partners at the Oxford Safeguarding Children Board? The relationships are very close. Are they ashamed of their apparent failure in the original investigation? Are some of the OCVC abusers now in the police? Or is their real hesitation because the abusers were white, the victims were white, and the people who “wrote” the physical and sexual abuse at OCVC were Asian, Muslim and non-white? This is at odds with the desired mainstream political agenda and common purpose which seeks to target some communities over others.
Whatever the reason, even detailed reports of white men entering OCVC buildings through fire doors and luring young people with sweets, alcohol and drugs were not enough to spur TVP to act, let alone the images of young people, including women, being solicited for sex and shown pornography so harmful they are still struggling to shake.
A Good Samaritan stood up to protect young people from abuse. Students report that he has been slandered and victimized for his courage. Doesn't he now deserve significant public support to ensure a full and independent investigation into the Oxford University and Cherwell Valley College cover-up and finally bring abusers (regardless of race, colour or creed) to justice?
Friends of former pupils say an employment tribunal is due to be held in Reading which will reveal further truths about OCVC's safeguarding issues.
