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John Jillings says some of the treatment was 'bestial'
A report written 17 years ago, has finally been published, identifying long-term "extensive" abuse at children's homes in north Wales during the 1970s through to the 1990s.
Abuse allegations at several children's homes, including the former Bryn Estyn home in Wrexham, emerged in the 1990s.
An inquiry by John Jillings was carried out in 1996 but shelved due to fears there would be compensation claims.
The report was finally published following an FoI request by the BBC.
The 300-page report was initially written in 1996 after it was commissioned by the former Clwyd County Council, which covered the areas now represented by Flintshire, Denbighshire and Wrexham councils.
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It had followed North Wales Police's investigation into abuse claims in 1991 and the conviction of seven former care workers.
But as more claims of widespread abuse in almost 40 homes emerged, the former Clwyd County Council commissioned Mr Jillings in March 1994 to investigate.
However, it was never published.
Mr Jillings, a former director of social services for Derbyshire, said the council was worried about costly insurance claims.
The Jillings inquiry was followed by another investigation by the late Sir Ronald Waterhouse, which took four years to complete.
Sir Ronald found there had been "appalling mistreatment" of children over a period of 20 years.
He had gathered evidence from 650 people, with most allegations focusing on seven homes.
Last year the scandal re-emerged after a victim claimed the Waterhouse report in 2000 had not uncovered the full scale of the abuse.
Home Secretary Theresa May then launched a new police inquiry into the abuse allegations.
Meanwhile, in November 2012 the BBC submitted a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to get the Jillings report published.
Clwyd council's successor authorities, such as Flintshire County Council and Wrexham County Borough Council, began searching their archives for a copy, and a redacted [edited] version was finally made public on Monday.
It found:
- Extensive abuse of children over a substantial number of years
- Children had been severely disturbed by the abuse
- At least 12 children had died
- Responses to reports children had been abused were "too little and too late"
- Five men working at Bryn Estyn were convicted of serious offences involving 20 boys and five girls aged 10-16
- Investigating panel were hindered by serious constraints
- There was a "lack of clarity" over accessibility of social services files and police material
- North Wales Police did not conduct independent investigations of allegations against former and serving police officers
- Report panel considered abandoning the investigation
- Some staff refused to meet investigating panel
- It was not known how many statements made were handed to CPS
- It was not known how many alleged perpetrators, including police officers, were named in the statements
- An earlier report into abuse at another home was shelved after concerns over prejudicing a prosecution and insurance worries
- The report urged a public judicial inquiry
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Councillor Malcolm King: "They were leaning on the county council for us to say as little as possible"
The report said: "Our investigations have led us to conclude that the abuse of children and young people in Clwyd residential units has been extensive, and has taken place over a substantial number of years."
"Start Quote
End Quote Jillings ReportThe most striking fact to emerge is that five men who shared in common their employment as residential care workers at Bryn Estyn were convicted of serious offences "
It added: "It is clear that, in a significant number of cases, the lives of young people who have been through the care system in Clwyd have been severely disrupted and disturbed. At least 12 young people are dead."
The report said of "the many statements" taken, "it is unclear how many were forwarded to the Crown Prosecution Service [CPS] for consideration", and "it is also unclear how many other professionals, including police officers, were named in these statements as perpetrators of assaults".
North Wales Police were severely criticised in the report, which said the chair of social services and the county secretary and solicitor "consistently pressed both the chief constable...and the Minister of State at the Home Office to accept that it was inappropriate for the North Wales Police to themselves investigate profoundly serious allegations by young people directed against the police force".
The report was concerned with the lack of a mechanism to ensure independent investigations were conducted of allegations against former and serving police officers and the low rates of referral to the Police Complaints Authority for supervision of such investigations.
It also said Clwyd at the time was ranked 18th out of 40 force areas "with the highest rate of sexual offences".
The panel concluded they could not hope to successfully address the wider areas of concern, including that public figures had been involved in the abuse.
The report had "frank criticism" for individuals at the council as well as "aspects of policy and practice," but said they "nevertheless respect the authority for its determination to examine what went wrong".
It said that "the most striking fact to emerge is that five men who shared in common their employment as residential care workers at Bryn Estyn were convicted of serious offences involving at least 24 young people."
According to the Jillings report, another inquiry into abuse at the Cartrefle children's home was not published because of CPS concerns it may prejudice a prosecution, as well as concerns over insurance.
'Too little too late'Summarising, the report said: "Our findings show that time and again the response to indications that children may have been abused has been too little and too late.
Separate abuse inquiries
In April, Operation Pallial, an independent investigation examining claims of historical child abuse at children's homes in north Wales found "significant evidence of systemic and serious sexual and physical abuse".
Investigators found evidence of 140 allegations of historical abuse between 1963 and 1992.
76 new complainants came forward and 84 suspected offenders were named.
A separate review by Mrs Justice Macur is investigating the terms of the Waterhouse abuse inquiry, which took place between 1996 and 2000.
The inquiries followed a victim's claims that Sir Ronald Waterhouse uncovered only a fraction of the abuse.
Those claims surfaced in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.
Home Secretary Theresa May ordered Operation Pallial following a Newsnight report last November which - as well as leading to a Tory peer being falsely accused of paedophilia - alleged that child abuse in north Wales from the 1970s was more widespread than reported.
"Furthermore the needs and interests of children and young people have tended to be an incidental, rather than a primary concern."
The report urged a public judicial inquiry, and says that the former residents who made complaints "did not appear to be motivated out of a desire for financial recompense" and "the motivation appeared to be a genuine desire to see the situation improved for children in care".
It said Clwyd council was particularly vulnerable to criticism because the local authority was about to cease under a re-structuring of councils.
The report went on to say that other agencies, such as health, education, probation, North Wales Police and the Welsh Office "require similarly careful and detailed scrutiny" to put more effective safeguards in place.
Following the publication of the report, a joint statement from the north Wales councils was released.
It said: "The North Wales Councils recognise that the release of the report may bring distress to those affected by historic abuse and they encourage anyone who is affected by its release to call one of the numbers below if they need support.
"All councils have and will continue to support anyone affected by abuse.
"In north Wales, the safeguarding of children and young people is a high priority for today's councils."
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