A report has revealed that a boy, 12, allegedly raped a neglected nine-year-old, but wasn't prosecuted due to a botched investigation by teachers.
According to Cumbria Crack, the report is the latest in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) and examines five facilities as part of its probe. Appletree Treatment Centre near Kendal, Cumbria in the UK was one of the centers that was investigated.
The abuse allegedly happened when the boys, who haven’t been named, were students at the school, which is meant for children who have been neglected or abused. The alleged victim was repeatedly sexually abused, "maybe 100 times," by the 12-year-old and others while at the school, IICSA was told, reported Daily Mail. When the school's staff came to investigate, bungled efforts to interview the kids involved meant they "contaminated evidence" and stopped the possibility of a prosecution.
The IICSA report referred to one incident involving the alleged victim at Appletree after he had absconded with two older children in November 2006. The two older kids were aged 12 and 11. The alleged victim later sat for a police interview where he said that the 12-year-old had "pulled down his pants" before raping him. The alleged victim had told the older kid to "stop and get off," but he did not until he was left hurt and then managed to "run away." A few weeks later when a staff member overheard friends of the nine-year-old making accusations towards his alleged attacker about his behavior, the abuse came to light.
Cumbria Constabulary interviewed the victim, but no action was taken due to factors including the boys' conflicting accounts and their "damaged backgrounds." The alleged victim later told his foster parent about the abuse, but the Crown Prosecution Service decided to take no further action. The decision was taken because the school "interviewing" the children had the effect of "contaminating the evidence."
The alleged attacker reportedly had a "chaotic and abusive" early life. After he was interviewed under caution later in November 2006, he never returned to the school.
BBC reported that in 2019, during an inquiry hearing Clair Davies, principal of Appletree, told counsel to the investigation Anna Bicarregui that she was "very sorry for the sexual activity and sexual abuse that took place at Appletree."
