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IICSA published its final Report in October 2022. This website was last updated in January 2023.

IICSA Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse

Children in the care of the Nottinghamshire Councils Investigation Report

Pen portraits from children in the care of the Nottinghamshire Councils

This investigation received many accounts of sexual abuse from those who were in the care of the Nottinghamshire Councils. A selection of these are set out here, and others are referred to throughout the report.

D6

D6[1] was born in 1995 and taken into foster care in 2005 after a horrific experience at home. He was in the care of the City, which, whilst retaining responsibility for him, placed him in foster care in Yorkshire with NO-F70, via an independent fostering agency. Multiple allegations of abuse were made against NO-F70, but investigations were dropped quickly and NO-F70 moved with D6 to the Isle of Wight.

Following the move, social work visits to D6 became “sporadic” and were often cancelled. D6 told us of being physically assaulted and intimidated by NO-F70 and then, in 2007, sexually abused by him. D6 was eventually removed from NO-F70’s care after two allegations of child sexual abuse were made against NO-F70, although there was no investigation at that time into whether D6 had also been abused by NO-F70.

In 2017, D6 reported his abuse to the police but there was some confusion about which force should be investigating it. The abuse resulted in D6 trying to take his own life on a number of occasions, and standing outside the City’s offices having covered himself in petrol. He told the Inquiry:

“I am still full of fury about what NO-F70 did to me. I don’t understand how someone with an allegation of underage sexual assault made against them can have been allowed to continue to foster children.”

L29

L29[2] was born in 1990. In 2005, he was remanded into the care of the City and placed at Beechwood for four months. He alleges being forced to perform oral sex on a male member of staff, NO-F61:

“He would give me things such as fags and money, before and after the abuse. I think this was his way of getting me to comply and keep the abuse a secret.”

L29 would run away to escape the abuse and, on occasion, would be returned by the police. He did not tell them what was happening with NO-F61 as he did not trust them. He came forward again more recently to the police, in 2015, and says that he felt they believed him. He had not received an apology from the City, which made him “very angry”:

“I don’t see any future for myself. I understand that I had problems before Beechwood, but, in my opinion, Beechwood put me where I am today.”

L35

L35[3] was born in 1982 and was placed in foster care with NO-F116 and NO-F117 in 1987. She had previously been physically and sexually abused at home; in 1989, a number of adults in L35’s family were convicted of abuse against her, her siblings and cousins.

In foster care, L35 was physically and sexually abused. She said that NO-F116 “would sometimes touch me between my legs. I remember being sat on the sofa and he would put his hand down my trousers. He never forced himself on to me but would make me touch his penis and him touch me.

L35 disclosed the abuse in 1989, but did not leave the placement for another six months. An investigation by the police and children’s social care was conducted subsequently into allegations from her and others. L35 was not interviewed. The foster carers were not prosecuted, although L35 was told that they would not be allowed to foster again. L35 is angry that the foster carers “were allowed to get away with abusing children in their care for so long and nothing was done about it. No one took foster children seriously. We made disclosures. There were various investigations and to an extent we were believed but there was no punishment for the foster parents. They got away with everything.

N1

N1[4] was taken into the care of the County in 1982, aged 12, having been sexually abused at home. She was placed at Beechwood for around 18 months, during which time she was sexually abused by Andris Logins, a member of residential care staff. She described how Logins was “really friendly” towards her, recalling that “He was the only person there that was nice to me.” She told us of a number of instances in which they had sexual intercourse at Beechwood and said “All, if not most, staff members at Beechwood knew about the abuse but failed to prevent or report it.

After leaving care, N1 turned to drugs, drink and “prostitution” and was living a “really dysfunctional life”. She only told the police about the abuse in 2012 when they contacted her as part of their investigation into Beechwood. She was very positive about her treatment by the police, who updated her regularly. Logins was convicted in 2016 of sexually abusing her and others.

D22

D22[5] was born in 1969 and taken into care in 1978. He had various different placements, including two at Beechwood in 1978 or 1979 and in 1984. At Beechwood, he was sexually abused by two male members of staff, NO-F29 and another.

“I remember that both men abused me on multiple occasions. They both touched me inappropriately. They both forced me to masturbate them. They both forced me to perform oral sex on them.”

D22 also recalls being sexually abused by two male members of staff at Skegby Hall, as well as being physically and racially abused there. At South Collingham Hall, another children’s home, he was sexually abused on three occasions by an older boy, including one rape, one attempted rape and an incident of sexual touching.

He did not tell anyone about the sexual abuse at the time. He did not think he would be believed:

“I never wanted anyone to find out what had been done to me. As a young black kid, I didn’t know who to turn to or who to trust. I remember that I tried to run away from Beechwood and the staff caught me just down the road. I think this happened about three times. I remember that I told them that I didn’t want to go back to Beechwood.”

He also says at times he blamed himself: “The abuse I suffered has always been a source of shame and embarrassment for me. The thought of talking about it has been, and still is, very frightening.” In the last 10 years he has contacted solicitors and reported his abuse to the police, who have kept him updated about their investigation.

A76

A76[6] was born in 1969 and spent 16 years in care, moving placement 21 times, including both children’s homes and foster placements. She was raped twice by an older boy at one children’s home: “He told me that if I told anyone about what he had done, he would beat me until I was dead.” She tried to tell a female staff member but was “just too scared”. She was also sexually assaulted by another boy at the home, but did not report it:

“I never stayed in one place long enough to feel like I had any one adult who I could trust to report what had happened to me at the time.”

A76 noted that, in her social services records, there was a letter from a social worker dated February 1990, which stated that “her experiences in care were not a credit to the department”. A76 told us, “With the greatest respect, this feels like the understatement of the century. I was treated appallingly by Social Services and they know it.

L48

L48[7] was born in 1964 and admitted into care in 1969. In 1971, he was placed in foster care with NO-F275 and NO-F358. He moved with them to Cheshire, but remained in the care of Nottingham City Council. He was sexually abused by NO-F275 but, as he was not able to see a social worker alone, felt unable to disclose the abuse.

His next foster placement was with NO-F276, who sexually abused him when he was aged 11 and treated all of the foster children as “slaves”. L48 was unable to disclose the abuse as he was frightened people would not believe him and the abuse had made him confused about his sexuality.

He first reported the abuse to the County’s children’s social care service in 1985, but felt that he was not believed from the outset. He withdrew the complaint. He complained to the County again in 2015 and felt believed by Steve Edwards (then Service Director for children’s social care), who organised counselling and for him and other complainants to give talks to social workers and foster carers about their experiences in care and the lessons to be learned.

In 2017, NO-F275 was acquitted after being charged with abuse of L48. L48’s sexual abuse allegations against NO-F276 were investigated by the City’s Safeguarding Children Board, which found that they were unsubstantiated. L48 found the process followed by the Safeguarding Children Board to be “insulting”.

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