8. There were 34 complainant core participants in this investigation, each of whom had alleged that Lord Janner abused them when they were children. The Inquiry published a summary table setting out the allegations concerning Lord Janner, which is reproduced in Annex 3.^[1] The table includes the period of the alleged offending, the date when the matter was reported to the police and an indication of the outcome of the complaint (for example, whether the case was still under investigation at the time of Lord Janner’s death, and whether the complaint resulted in a charge or count).^[2]

9. The allegations spanned the early 1960s to the late 1980s, when the complainants were aged between 5 and 17. Some complainants were resident in children’s homes in Leicestershire. The acts complained of included allegations of indecent assault such as the touching of genitalia, gross indecency which included acts of oral sex and buggery which now encompasses the offence of anal rape. The offending was said to have taken place in a variety of locations, including children’s homes, schools, a flat in London, the Holiday Inn hotel in Leicester, Lord Janner’s car and the Houses of Parliament. Some of the allegations included complaints that Lord Janner had been in the company of other adult perpetrators when the alleged abuse took place.

10. As is not uncommon, years passed before many of the complainants felt able to report the alleged abuse to the police or a third party. A number of reasons were given for this.

10.1. Some complainants feared that they would not be believed, particularly where they were a child in care or were in an otherwise vulnerable situation. As JA-A11 said, he “was just a kid in a care home”.^[3] JA-A27 echoed this, saying that he did not tell the officer in charge of the children’s home because “they’re not going to believe me, I’m just a little kid in a Children’s Home”.^[4]

10.2. For some complainants, there was confusion about the nature of the alleged physical acts of sexual abuse, with many children not realising until later that such acts were wrong or potentially criminal. JA-A5 said that he was made to feel that what happened was “normal”.^[5] JA-A6 said that, at the time, he did not realise that what was happening was wrong.^[6]

10.3. In some cases, we were told of direct or implied threats that were made in order to ensure that allegations were not reported. JA-A23 said that, before the alleged abuse, he was told that if:

“I told anybody what happened in this room they would put me to a Boy’s home where I’d never see my mum and dad again”.^[7]

JA-A20 said he was told not to say anything, and “that’s what I did, and I never told no-one”.^[8]

10.4. There were also feelings of embarrassment and shame about the alleged abuse. In 2014, JA-A22 made his complaint of sexual abuse, which dated back to the start of the 1980s. When asked why he did not make an earlier report, he stated: “embarrassment and scared and just didn’t want anybody to know”.^[9]

10.5. Others attempted to bury or otherwise come to terms with the alleged abuse. JA-A7 made his complaint to the police in 2015. He said he did not previously report the matter because he found it:

“too hard to even admit to myself what happened to me … I find it too overwhelming for me to deal with. It’s like if I don’t have to tell anyone I don’t have to admit it to myself.”^[10]

These feelings were repeated by a number of the complainants, including JA-A1, who stated that he found it “too shameful and embarrassing to talk about to anyone”.^[11]