BishopAccountability.org

First week of major child abuse inquiry will be held at Trent Bridge, it has been confirmed

By David Whitfield
Nottingham Post
April 30, 2018

https://www.nottinghampost.com/news/local-news/first-week-major-child-abuse-1517276

Trent Bridge Cricket Ground
Photo by Harry Trump

The first five days of a major inquiry into historical child sex abuse in Nottinghamshire will be held at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, it has been confirmed.

The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) will spend three weeks looking into the extent of the sexual abuse of children in the care of Nottingham City and Nottinghamshire County Councils.

It will also look at how institutions including those councils and the police responded to any abuse claims.

The hearing was originally due to take place in Southwark, London, but the Nottinghamshire Child Sexual Abuse Survivors Group has asked for some of the sessions to take place locally.

In January IICSA agreed that the opening day of the hearing could take place here, and it would look at whether other days could be held here, too.

And it has now said the first full week, from October 1 to 5, will be held at the cricket ground.

David Hollas, advocate for the Nottinghamshire Child Sexual Abuse Survivors Group, said: "The inquiry has listened, and has said, 'This is where the abuse happened, this is where the majority of survivors live, and this is where they feel comfortable.

"Will more people turn up if it is held here? Yes. It makes it easier for people. And it brings home to people on the periphery that this is where it happened."

The investigation into Nottinghamshire councils is one of 13 being carried out by IICSA. Other areas bing looked at include the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, and Westminster.

So far it has finished investigations into five of these areas, with another eight full hearings still to be held.

The Nottinghamshire hearing will focus on three areas:

(1) The institutional responses to disclosures of allegations of child sexual abuse at Beechwood children's home in Woodborough Road, Mapperley, from 1967 to the present;

(2) The institutional responses to disclosure of allegations of child sexual abuse in foster care;

(3) The institutional responses to disclosures of allegations of child sexual abuse carried out by children against other children in the care of the Councils.

IICSA said that the first week of the hearing at Trent Bridge "will hear opening statements and oral evidence from some witnesses".

There are 90 'core participants' in the inquiry who could be called to give evidence and have special rights in the process. Of these, 83 are people who have complained about abuse they received.

The remaining two weeks of the hearing, on weeks commencing October 8 and October 22, will take place at the Inquiry's hearing centre in London.

So far there have been two preliminary hearings held in London.

It was also announced today that a further preliminary hearing for this investigation will be held on Thursday, July 19, at the Inquiry's hearing centre in London.




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