Victim: Officer ‘loved every minute’ of abuse
THE monster who abused teenagers at Medomsley Detention Centre “loved every minute of it”.
That’s the view of one former inmate who says he suffered horrific, violent attacks in the County Durham young offenders’ facility, at the hands of bullying officer Christopher Onslow.
David Alan Brown, from Lemington, Newcastle, was 18 when he was sent to Medomsley after being convicted of a burglary he said he did not commit.
Now, after five former employees were convicted of subjecting young inmates to vile and degrading abuse, David has revealed how he had to turn detective himself to prove he was at Medomsley after all records of his incarceration were destroyed.
And the grandad has claimed inmates would even ask others to break their legs to avoid cruel gym sessions with exercise officer Onslow.
David said: “I do think they got a kick out of it, they weren’t just doing their jobs. Onslow was an animal. He was very fit, very aggressive and very violent. He loved every minute of it.
“At the time I just thought that is what happens there because it was happening to everybody else. But it should never ever have happened.
“It was a horrible place. I wouldn’t wish it on anybody. It was a sick and degrading thing to happen to you.”
David, now 56, claims he was accused of burgling a local supermarket after an acquaintance tried to hide stolen cigarettes in his car.
He was sentenced to three months of detention, in August 1981, and sent straight to Medomsley Detention Centre, near Consett.
“As soon as I got there I knew it was going to be a violent regime,” David explained. “You were asked for your name and your date of birth, and you had to say ‘Sir’ afterwards. I forgot and some other kids forgot and we got beat straight away.
“At first I thought: ‘That’s not right. Surely they aren’t allowed to do that.’ Then I thought: ‘This is my punishment.’ I soon realised there was too much violence. And not just by one officer.”
It was Onslow, who was in charge of physical training at Medomsley, who inflicted the worst abuse, said David.
He claimed the superfit officer would set inmates near impossible exercise tasks, then beat them mercilessly when they failed to perform them.
One such challenge was what was known as the ‘fence run’ during which the teenagers were required to run four miles around Medomsley’s perimeter fence, in under 35 minutes.
It was something David was unable to do: “He was a bit like a sergeant major in the Army, but with extreme violence.
“If you didn’t do the four miles in 35 minutes you got kicked all over. For me it was impossible and I got kicked round the fence by Onslow. He took my plimsolls off and made me run around the fence barefoot. “There were some lads that just physically couldn’t do the PE,” he continued. “With me being a big lad they asked me to jump on their legs to break them so they wouldn’t have to do PE.” David claims he was also attacked by John McGee. He says the prison officer punched him in the mouth when he swore at the Governor and called him “heartless” after he was refused permission to attend his nana’s funeral. “He was a big bloke and he was always beating you,” he said.
In 2003, paedophile Neville Husband was jailed for sexually abusing youngsters working in the Medomsley kitchens. David says he was aware some inmates were being sexually assaulted. “Worse things were happening to other lads,” he said. “During the night you’d hear the doors of the dormitory squeaking open and you could hear lads getting dragged out of their beds. Then it would go quiet. We were all terrified in case it was our turn next.” Determined to survive his time at Medomsley, David tried to keep his head down.
“I wasn’t going to let it beat us,” he said. “I’m a very strong-willed person. As soon as I came out I told my dad what was going on.” David’s dad wanted his son to tell police what had happened to him, but he refused, which is something he still carries guilt for. “I didn’t think they would believe me, but I wish I’d gone to the police now,” he said. Following his release, David tried to put his ordeal behind
him. Within weeks he met future wife Michelle, and over the following years he built up a successful business running several scrapyards in Byker.
The couple had two children and David is now a grandfather and works for his son’s fencing company.
However, the horrors he experienced and witnessed at Medomsley were never far from his mind. “I moved on from what happened, but you never forget,” he said.
In 2013, Durham Constabulary launched a fresh investigation into abuse at Medomsley Detention Centre, Operation Seabrook, after a new victim came forward to report being abused at the site. Publicity prompted hundreds of men to come forward with allegations they were abused by different staff members at Medomsley.
The abuse is alleged to have taken place over many years, mainly in the 1970s and 1980s.
To date, 1,676 men have contacted the Operation Seabrook team to report allegations of either sexual or physical assaults while detained at Medomsley, between the 1960s and when the centre closed in 1988.
After making a statement, officers got back in touch with David telling him they could find no record he was ever at Medomsley, something that caused him fresh torment.
“For days after that I thought I was going crazy,” he said. Determined not to give up, David remembered that his late dad had kept a diary throughout his life.
Inside, David found detailed entries where his dad had described visiting him at Medomsley, along with a letter David had written with his prison number on.
David faced his abusers during two trials at Teesside Crown Court.
His evidence helped convict Onslow, now 72, of two counts of misconduct in a public office, three charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, inflicting grievous bodily harm and one of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, and John McGee, 74, of misconduct in public office and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Both have launched an appeal against their convictions for misconduct in a public office.
“I didn’t really understand the word ‘closure’ before but I do now,” said David.
“I had been very bitter about it all my life, right up until now.”
The five convicted officers, which also include Brian Greenwell, 71, Kevin Blakely, 67, and Alan Bramley, 70, are due to be sentenced at a later date.