Category: Child abuse

Before I start, I must state that this is my opinion only.

Lord Greville Janner has allegations going back to the 70’s for child sexual abuse when he was an MP in Leicestershire, UK.   It is said he befriended manager(s) of children(s) homes for access to young children.    I remember one case in particular regarding a children’s home in a small town where I used to live.   A friend of mine worked there and gave evidence during the court cases when it was first investigated.

Greville Janner’s name was mentioned way back and I am not going to go into details because you can read the facts in the news today the evidence regarding whether he was involved in child sexual abuse, and the failure of the CPS to bring him to court on several occasions.

The Crown Prosecution Service has deemed him unfit to bring to prosecution because he is living with Alzheimer’s disease.   So the case will not go any further meaning those adults who are living with the heritage of being a victim of sexual abuse at one of these children’s homes will never be able to see justice.

This is a very emotive subject, but one I think that is important.  Without the recognition of a court judgement, will these people feel betrayed by the justice system?

Lord Janner may be unfit but if there is a case for prosecution, surely he should lose his title?  As a Lord he remains to sit in the house of Lords, Alzheimer’s or not.

Surely having Alzheimer’s does not absolve someone of previous crimes committed against people, unless they are not able to mentally distinguish right or wrong at the time of the crime.

Is it right to let them off?  Should they still be prosecuted even if they are unable to serve a sentence.  For the survivors of the abuse it would mean a public acknowledgement of this man’s crime towards them.

I feel very strongly about supporting survivors of any crime, because they need our support in a world where justice may seem very cruel at times.

My personal view is that yes – he should be prosecuted because I refuse to believe that his memory of his whole life in the 1970’s and 80’s has been forgotten.   I can also see on the other hand that this would also be very difficult to do.

This is not an easy debate to have but one which I feel must come.