Jersey care home abuser is jailed for string of sex attacks

Victims of alleged child abuse in Jersey said today they had been vindicated after a former carer was jailed for two years for a string of sex attacks. Gordon Wateridge, 78, nicknamed “the perv” by his victims, repeatedly sexually assaulted three teenagers at the Haut de la Garenne children’s home during the 1970s.

Wateridge, of St Clement, Jersey, was the first person to be charged in connection with the abuse investigation on the island. His jailing has intensified calls for further action to investigate other alleged abuses. Alan Collins, a lawyer representing many of the alleged victims, said: “The importance of Wateridge’s conviction is that it puts paid to those who said the abuse never took place.

“The response I have had today from the victims I represent is that they are pleased because it shows they are telling the truth. The Jersey government has now got two choices. It can drag all the victims through the courts and force them to relive their ordeals or it can do the right thing and compensate those victims who want to be compensated.”

Some campaigners say they have no confidence in the Channel island’s government and called for the UK to intervene by sending an independent expert to head an inquiry.