The Jersey Establishment And JEP - A Symbiotic Relationship

So, we now have three child abuse convictions yet, we still have many tough questions that need to be answered and we have learned firsthand how the government and The Rag respond to crisis in Jersey.

If, as some highly placed members of the establishment would have the good folks of Jersey and the international community believe, nothing untoward occurred at Haut de la Garenne, child abuse on the island was not an issue, nor was it hidden or covered up, how do we now have 3 guilty verdicts?

Does this not also mean that the brave victims who came forward weren't lying or having faulty memories as was so often intimated?

If nothing happened at Haut de la Garenne, again as so often intimated, why did Detective Superintendent Mick Gradwell say 'Gordon Wateridge, a house parent at Haut de la Garenne, was a sexual bully towards vulnerable young girls in his care. We hope the complainants involved in this trial have received some comfort from the decision reached by the court' ?

During the infamous November 2008 presser by David Warcup and Mick Gradwell, Warcup expressed much regret at inaccurate information provided by his predecessors.

Yes, that would be Lenny Harper and Graham Power - why then have Warcup and Gradwell never explained the 60-odd milk teeth, many with roots still attached, that were unearthed at Haut de la Garenne?

Instead of dismissing them as 'possibly' being hundreds of years old, why have Warcup and Gradwell not had the dozens of burnt bones carbon dated to determine their age?

Now, it is highly important to remember that on the very same day as the Warcup presser, Frank Walker held his own presser that pretty much echoed Warcup's.

These pressers, were seen as being staged and choreographed to divert attention from the impending release of the critical The Howard League Report on child abuse in Jersey.

So, true to the 'Jersey way' the establishment and The Rag spin-doctors went into a frenzy of activity to trash Lenny Harper, Graham Power and others. It was a transparently lame attempt to deflect the damaging information contained in The Howard League Report.

OK, fast forward to this past Thursday.

You just know a bunch of folks had to be on pins and needles waiting for the verdict in the Gordon Wateridge case. I imagine more than a few conversations were held in backrooms that went somewhat like this - I'm sure it's nothing, but what if, god forbid, these jokers come back with a guilty verdict? What shall we do?

So, the government mouthpiece and puppet agent - The Rag - trumpets not the GUILTY headline, but Lawyer: Harper made up remains' story.

The Rag's Diane Simon was more than obliging to trash Lenny again in an attempt to divert attention from the guilty verdict and the bad light that places the establishment in.

Yesterday after Claude Donnelly was sentenced to 15 years for 15 counts of indecent assault, rape and procuring an act of gross indecency, what was The Rag spouting as a headline?

A case of 'lies and half-truths'

STRONG criticism of former police chief Lenny Harper's handling of the Haut de la Garenne inquiry has been voiced by a lawyer and a senior judge, who called his media activites 'extraordinary'.

Oh, Diane, Diane! Is it really so difficult to follow the day's real story? Is it so hard to do some true investigative work, ask the really tough questions and stop being an establishment shill?

Oh, and did The Rag publish Lenny Harper's highly detailed response to Ms Simon? Nope, nada!

So, does the establishment feed off The JEP or does The JEP feed of the establishment? I don't know maybe it's just me, but I find this all highly insulting and it so predictable it's become a sad joke.

Dishing Up The Goods On Jersey or, Time To Take The Trash Out

As we all know, some members of the States of Jersey and the police force are doing their damnedest to destroy the reputations of Lenny Harper and Graham Power, as well as making a mockery out of the investigation into child abuse. In order to do so, they set about ‘investigating’ the investigation utilizing several UK police forces.

The irrepressible Senator Syvret recently asked the Home Affairs Minister just how much this ‘investigating’ the investigation was costing the decent folks in Jersey. Well, to trash Lenny, Graham and the child abuse investigation, a whopping £310,000!

All of this thrashing and trashing has a much more serious consequence. Warcup and Gradwell during the infamous presser in November - tearing the investigation to shreds - have basically handed defense attorneys for those who could and should be brought to trial, an out. “The case is moot. Your top cops have said so.”

Do not forget, Warcup admitted to the press he had "ripped up evidence" from the investigation! In my opinion that smacks of being illegal, yet he still has a job!

And, what about Graham Power?

Remember, the same day of Warcup and Gradwell’s presser, Bill Ogley and Andrew Lewis set-about getting rid of Power. Power was summarily told he had an hour to decided whether to retire or be suspended immediately. Graham didn’t need an hour to think about it – his immediate answer was no and stated he would contest the actions against him.

In the assembly, Simon Crowcroft proposed the States review the suspension and disciplinary procedures used against Mr. Power. Specifically to determine whether they were correctly and lawfully undertaken. This came about after Graham issued a 12/1/08 statement to all States members. The document lays out how his suspension was illegal and an abuse of power.

The full document can be read on Senator Syvret’s blog. It’s a doozy and well worth the read!

So, the States took up this discussion yesterday and here are a few jaw-droppers!

During the Power, Ogley, Lewis meeting, Ogley took volumes of written notes. Those notes are deemed to have been heavily sanitized before being distributed as ‘minutes’ of the meeting. Power requested copies of all notes taken by Ogley as evidence of what occurred during that meeting.

Ogley destroyed them! Yup, illegally destroyed the minutes - illegally destroyed evidence! The current Home Affairs Minister even admitted he was ‘horrified’ when he learned Ogley destroyed evidence.

Well, the long-and-short of the Assembly debate to review Power’s suspension was apparently too much for the States – the proposition was thrown out!

Seems to me, Power was not the appropriate person to have been suspended – a couple of other names come to my mind!

Ignore, Spin or Just Make Outlandish Statements the Jersey Way

I am flabbergasted by the series of absurd media stories coming out about Jersey, the past few days. In the wake of Walker and Warcup’s pressers, it seems the outlandish has been ratcheted up.

Harper and Graham were out of control - how did this happen?

3 separate reports from the independent Association of Chief Officers, ACOP, were issued regarding the Haut de la Garenne investigation. They were pleased with the way the investigation was being handled. Suggestions they offered were quickly put in place and the ACOP commented they had never seen recommendations acted on so quickly.

In their trashing and bashing of the investigation and evidence, Warcup and Walker conveniently made no mention of the ACOP reports.

So, the evidence painstakingly gathered by a team of professionals and reviewed by the APOC is just trash and “in tatters”?

It’s apparent to me who the rogue agents are here!

Eddie the sniffer dog - it’s his fault and Lenny will be the reason for no convictions!

The Daily Mail: In any event, what is now clear is that the fiasco goes back to the beginning, with Mr Harper's sudden and dramatic announcement on February 23 about finding the remains of a child, along with the claim that Eddie the sniffer dog - the very same beast that had already caused the parents of Madeleine McCann months of unjustified misery by finding the 'scent of death' in their Portugal apartment - had identified six further sites where children might lie buried.

Two trials of alleged abusers are pending.

'The fear is that Lenny's behaviour will make it impossible to get convictions,' one senior Jersey legal source said. 'Instead of obtaining justice for the victims, he may have weakened their prospects of getting it.'

Darn that cute little Eddie – he just can’t be trusted! Or, maybe Eddie is a secret agent!

One has to ask, has Jersey now set the stage to dump any and all prosecutions? Lame excuse - blaming that on Harper. The judiciary has not moved several files in many, many months. There are at least 18 individuals under investigation.

Senator Wendy Kinnard has resigned so lets trash her also!

This Is Jersey: Yesterday’s revelations have raised fresh questions about the timing of her departure. On 21 October she made a statement to the States that she was stepping down ‘on a point of moral conscience and principle’. She said at the time that her decision to go was based on a refusal by the Council of Ministers to discuss a change in the way that judges instructed juries over uncorroborated evidence.

At the time her resignation raised eyebrows among her political colleagues, who found it difficult to believe that she would stand down so quickly and over such a matter. They and others are now asking whether she was looking for an excuse to leave office to avoid taking responsibility for the way the historical child abuse inquiry had been handled.

Home Affairs Minister Andrew Lewis suggested that the actions of Senator Kinnard would be a feature of the inquiry into how things got so out of control. ‘The public deserves to find out why, and that is why we are conducting an investigation,’ he said. ‘We are reviewing the actions of the chief of police. The actions of everyone will be subject to inquiry.’

Hmmm Wendy, Lenny, Graham and Eddie all seem to be in cahoots!

Forget what the Howard League Report says - we need tougher punishment for children!

"Howard League Report 'Naive'

The man who wants to be Jersey’s next Home Affairs Minister has criticised a report into the island’s youth justice system.

Senator-elect Ian Le Marquand says calls to stop locking up children are naive.

The former magistrate has been giving Channel 103 his response to the Howard League for Penal Reform’s findings.

He thinks punishments need to be tougher. He’s been complaining for years that existing provisions are not strong enough and the courts have no effective enforceable punishment for children under 15.

"We’re getting groups of youngsters who consider themselves absolutely untouchable under law who just carried on offending and offending and the courts could do absolutely nothing about it."

" I want to go in the opposite direction - but in a controlled and measured way."

Yikes, what the hell is, “a controlled and measured way?" Perhaps the scary Mr. Le Marquand skipped over this part of the report -

8.3 The proportion of children in Jersey remanded to custody (80%) is very high. In England and Wales, the remand proportion is typically 20% or just over. It is likely that the extraordinarily high remand proportion is related to the lack of legal framework for remands, alluded to at para 2.17.

8.4 In relation to Jersey’s small population, the juvenile custody rate of the island is unacceptably high.

Or, maybe Le Marquand should just lock-up all Jersey children – till they reach adulthood. Problem solved, no?

Am I done yet?

Not nearly!