Doctor used a truth serum to prey on kids
THOUSANDS of children may have been sexually abused by a psychiatrist after being given a ‘truth serum’ that left them unable to move.
Yesterday police revealed there was enough evidence to arrest Dr Kenneth Milner over allegations of rape and child cruelty against children as young as ten, had he been alive today.
Derbyshire Police said it had so far identified 65 victims and recorded 73 crimes – 43 of which were of a sexual nature – that had taken place at Aston Hall Hospital in Aston-On-Trent.
Officers said they had also identified other potential suspects who worked at the hospital, but no action would be taken as they were either dead or could not be traced.
It means no one will face justice over the scandal.
Dr Milner, who died 43 years ago, presided over Aston Hall for three decades, prompting fears there could be many more victims. One solicitor representing survivors said it was the ‘tip of the iceberg’.
The psychiatrist was allowed to continue ‘unmonitored and unchallenged’ between 1947 and 1975, a report found. Victims – sent from children’s homes, courts and troubled families – said they were given drugs that left them in a zombie-like state. They were stripped and abused.
Others said they were restrained and experimented on under the guise of correcting bad behaviour. Those who resisted were physically abused.
The first complaint was passed to police in 2011. Officers found no allegations of sexual abuse. Further allegations followed but it was only in February 2016 that the probe was formally passed to Derbyshire’s Public Protection Major Investigation Team. Chief Superintendent Kem Mehmet said: ‘The investigation has concluded that had Dr Milner been alive today he would have been interviewed as a suspect under caution.’
Police said they could justify interviewing Dr Milner over rape, indecent assault, child cruelty and assault. They said no inference could be drawn as to his guilt.
Dr Milner carried out ‘Narco Analysis’, which involved interviewing patients in a drug-induced state ‘to recall and disclose thoughts and feelings they would normally conceal’. Patients were injected with sodium amytal, a barbiturate derivative with sedative-hypnotic properties. The procedure was never acceptable medical practice.
One law firm, Bond Turner, said it was representing 47 victims who would be seeking compensation from the Westminster Health Secretary. Solicitor Stephen Edwards said: ‘I think this is the tip of the iceberg ... you could be looking at thousands here.’
The NSPCC said the report ‘shines a light on decades of abuse that vulnerable victims suffered at the hands of professionals who exploited their positions’.
‘The tip of the iceberg’