Woman in court over centre ‘abuse’

A Maidstone woman charged with assault following investigations into alleged abuse at a youth jail has appeared in court.

Rebecca Harold, 24, of Grecian Street, was charged following the probe at Medway Secure Training Centre in Rochester.

Harold appeared before Medway magistrates on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to assault by beating. The case has been adjourned.

Nine more people arrested in connection with the allegations remain on bail until September 21.

Two more people who were arrested have been released without charge.

A probe was launched after the BBC’s Panorama programme sent an undercover reporter into the Rochester site between October and December last year.

The documentary, which was broadcast in January, showed staff appearing to use excessive force on some young inmates.

Since the allegations came to light, staff have been re-trained and the Ministry of Justice has taken over the running of the site from private security firm G4S.